Mahouski Book 1
by Baramunk-san
Summary: Mahouski are warriors born from the elemental gods. The Mahouski of darkness revives and the other four Mahouski have awakened to stop him. It's better than it sounds, so please R&R. Chapter 7 up. Rating for a few graphic descriptions
1. The War Begins

Author's Note: my very first fic. Now first off I'm going to clear up where this fic came from. It did not come from any one show, if this is already a show it occurred by accident, this story was born from taking various elements, names, abilities, styles, and all kinds of other things from several anime. Also this story contains several Japanese words and phrases. They are all translated in a glossary (chapter 2) that will be continually updated as I add to the story. (sorry if this bothers people, I promise the glossary will stay relatively short, I don't plan on it going over 3 pages) anyway, without further delay, chapter 1  
  
Chapter 1: The War Begins  
  
Souske leaned back against the rough bark of the tree. He starred up into the leaves, watching the light flicker as the branched swayed in the wind. The gentle breeze flowed over him like a soft sheet being laid on a baby. Souske closed his eyes let out a deep breath.  
"Souske! Souske, doko!" came a bellowing voice from a short ways off.  
"Mau mau Amelia. What's wrong?"  
"Souske, you still haven't done your chores. If mom comes back from the market and the house still isn't clean there's going to be hell to pay.  
"Sometimes I'd swear you were mom." Came Souske's mumbled reply as he slowly lifted himself up off the ground. Souske was 16 years old and one of the friendliest people in the village. He wore a loose cloth tunic and rather worn leather pants. His black hair was almost always a mess. His green eyes, although in most people conveyed a sense of anger, in his case did just the opposite. They were friendly and caring. Souske walked calmly back to his home. It wasn't a big home, but it suited their needs. Souske's father had died when Souske was only three. Far enough back that he could hardly remember him. Souske brushed the grass curtain aside as he stepped into the house. It was only one room, but it did have a slightly elevated platform in the back were three bed mats would go. A small fire ring sat just off to the right and along the wall was a stack of wood. Various bowls were strewn about the floor; the three had been too tired to even organize them the previous night. Souske knelt down and gathered the bowls and left on his way down to the river. "Souske-san!" came a young voice from behind him. Souske turned his head to see a young girl running. "Souske-san. Let's go play." Souske knelt down and rubbed the little girl on her head. She laughed and then grabbed hold of Souske's arm and tried to pull him along. "Not now Ayane-chan. I've got work to do. I'll play with you later." "But, I want to play now." "I wish I could. But I can't. Gomen." Souske smiled and Ayane let him go. Despite the considerable age difference between them, all of the kids in the village took a great liking to Souske. Many had been heard on occasion to say they wanted to grow up and be just like Souske. An aspiration that the parents tried hard to foster. They too had great respect for Souske. Souske walked calmly down to the river were he began to wash out the clay bowls. The remnants of last night's meal, boiled potatoes and a strip of meat, began to loosen and drift down the river. He quickly finished with the task and returned back home where he laid the bowls out to dry. Next he retrieved the broom from the corner of the house and proceeded to sweep out the leaves and excess dirt from the floor. He laid out some of the wood in the fire ring and then went out to gather more. With the woodpile restored and the house in tip-top shape Souske returned to his tree and sat down to rest. His rest however was soon disturbed by the loud voices of the children as they ran over to him. "Souske-san!" they yelled as they swarmed over him. "Souske-san, come play with us." Souske greeted them with a kind smile and let them drag him along. It would be close to night by the time Souske returned to the house. His mother and sister were already working on dinner when he walked in.  
"Okairi." His mother said in a soft tone  
"Tadaima" he replied.  
"How did things go at shop?" "Great. Kakashi thinks I can handle things on my own now. He stops by a lot less often." Souske worked at a small store outside of town that sold a lot of basic supplies like clothes and bed mats. The days weren't long, but the work was hard. Souske was left to handle everything. The stocking, selling, and general upkeep were all his responsibility. Kakashi actually did very little beside check up on Souske a couple times a day. Although because of this the pay was pretty good. Souske loved the job. The rest of the meal took place over some casual conversation. The sunset and the fire became the only source of light. Souske gathered the bowls and took them down to the river. Relying on the light from the moon and his own knowledge of the terrain to avoid injury. Souske felt the ice cold water run over his hand as he plunged the bowls into the flowing current. He swished his hand around and cleaned them as best he could. Then he gathered them up and returned to the house. Amelia and his mother were already asleep by the time he returned. Souske unrolled his bed mat and laid down on it. It was only a few minutes before sleep claimed him. Souske awoke to a horrible scream. He quickly jumped out of bed and found that his mother and sister were gone. He hurried outside, and what he saw horrified him. Flames covered his village, and dead bodies littered the ground. His first thought was that bandits had raided the town. This thought horrified him, but not as much as the truth would. Running through the village, were not bandits. In fact they weren't even human. They appeared human from a distance, but at a closer glance it became apparent that they were not. They dressed like humans and wore a sword on the back of their waist. But their skin was a cold, pale gray, and their eyes glowed a fierce red. They ran through the village with swords in hand, slaughtering anyone they saw. Other similar creatures shot fire arrows into the village at random. Souske couldn't move. He stood frozen in place. The scream that had awoken him came again. Souske turned and saw Ayane running from one of the creatures. Souske couldn't stand still any longer. Ran into his house and grabbed his sword from the corner. He threw the sheath off the blade and onto the ground as he ran toward the creature. He charged and thrust the sword into its back. Souske ripped the blade out and left a massive gash in the creature's side. Blood spilled onto the ground as it fell. "Nigero, Ayane-chan." Souske said in a hurried tone. Ayane took off running, and Souske returned to the fight. One of them jumped off of a roof and plummeted down onto Souske. In response he held up he sword and blocked the blow, but his knees buckled under the force and he fell to the ground. Souske raised his sword to strike but the creatures swung his sword hard, and Souske's sword flew out of his hand. The red demon eyes stared into Souske's. The demon raised its sword and plunged it down into him. Blood flowed from the wound and pain surged through his body. The demon eyes stared into Souske, and the sword came down again. Souske screamed and sat up. He felt two pairs of hands hold him back. His body was covered in sweat and he was terribly out of breath. His mind calmed and he realized what had happened. His mother and sister were awake and sitting next to him with worried looks on their faces. "A dream," Souske muttered, "it was all a dream. But it was so real. I could feel the pain, and the fear was so real." "Are you all right?" Amelia asked with a tone of utmost sincerity. "Yeah." Souske replied. "Yeah, I'm fine." Souske lay back down, but dared not go back to sleep. The dream remained on his mind the whole night. Morning came quickly and Souske left for the store just as the sun appeared on the horizon. His mother and sister awoke shortly after Souske had left. "Amelia." Called her mother. "Amelia, I'm going off to town." "What for?" asked Amelia. "Just a few supplies. I should be back before lunch." Amelia bid her mother farewell and returned to the house to fetch a needle and some cloth. She wandered outside to the center of the village, where she began working on a new shirt for Souske; all of his were about to come apart. Souske had arrived at the store by this time and was just finished opening up. He took a seat behind the counter and relaxed. The vision from the dream came back to him. They had been so vivid, and the dream would not fade from his mind, those evil looking figures with their red eyes. The eyes that struck fear into the soul. Souske could feel his pulse begin to pound as his mind relived the moment. Souske felt the touch on his shoulder as a demon bent over him preparing to kill him. He struggled, but the demon then grabbed both shoulders to hold him down. It shook him violently and then Souske felt a sharp pain in his back. He was on the floor of the shop and a young looking man was standing in front of him. "You alright?" He asked "Oh, I'm sorry, I must have dozed off. Can I help you?" "You sure, you seemed awfully scared of something." "Bad dream." Souske replied "Ah. Anyway I was wondering if you have any more of those tunics." "Which ones sir?" "The big white ones that are usually over in the corner." "Ah, those, yes we do their in the other corner." "Right thanks." The man paid for the tunic and left. Souske sat back down shocked that he had actually fallen asleep. He refused to let it happen again. Kakashi came in a few hours later to check up on things. Souske of course had everything under control. Kakashi's evening employee, Okita, had just come in, and Souske was getting ready to leave when the merchant came by. Okita, through much begging, managed to get Souske to stay and help him restock. "So, you heard the news?" asked the merchant as he lifted a small box off the cart and handed it to Okita "No, haven't. You heard anything Souske?" "Not a bit." "Are you serious?" Said the merchant a bit shocked. "Well I guess news doesn't get back here quickly. Well the facts are a couple towns around here have been decimated." "By what?" Asked Souske as he took a box of the cart. "No ones really sure. No one from the villages survived. The whole place was burned to the ground. But nothing was taken. The gems and gold, are all still there. Some of them in pieces, but not stolen. Never heard of a whole town being destroyed but nothing stolen. Some people claim they know. Rumors say it's demons. A couple people say they seen them. Moving from one village to the next. Souske dropped the box. To the ground and didn't move. "What do they fight with?" Souske asked, fear welling up in his eyes. "Well looks like our kind of weapons; swords, arrows, you know." "What do they look like?" Souske asked, the fear now evident in his tone. "Well the people who say they seen them, say they look like humans, but their skin isn't right. They all said that their eyes were the worst. Bright red ones that pierce your soul." Souske's eyes were wide with fear. His body was trembling and his hands shaking. "Okita, I have to go." Souske stammered, struggling to finish the thought. Before Okita had a chance to ask why Souske took off running toward the village. He ran as fast as he could without a second thought. "It's not real," he told himself. "These rumors are never right. It probably was bandits. They must've not found everything in the villages. Yeah, that's it; bandits, just bad ones. Not demons, demons aren't real. They're pretend. None of this is real." Despite what he said, Souske could not shake the truth. He knew they were real. The rumors were true. His dream; it wasn't a dream. It was a vision. Despite Souske's best efforts to convince himself otherwise, he knew it was true. Souske saw the village from a distance. It wasn't burning. It was safe. He looked everywhere but nothing seemed the slightest bit out of the ordinary. Maybe Souske was wrong. No, Souske wanted to tell himself he had been wrong. Wanted to tell himself so badly. The demons were nowhere to be found. It would have been easy to say that Souske had just seen another village. Maybe Ayane being there was just something his mind had made up. But Souske knew the truth. He wasn't wrong. He wasn't sure how he knew, but deep down he just knew. The demons would come. They would come to Seyrun, his town. The only thing Souske didn't know was when. Souske walked the rest of the way home. He spent the whole journey trying to remove any sign of the worry that was deep inside him. He walked into the village with a smile on his face. Ayane and a few other kids came running toward him. They immediately grabbed onto his legs and held on tight. Souske began to laugh as realistic a laugh as he could muster at the moment. The kids clung to him as he trudged his way toward the elder's house. Souske bent down stopped and the kids detached themselves. "Hold on a minute. I've got to have a quick word with the elder before we can play." The children reluctantly let him go and Souske brushed the grass door aside as he entered the house. The elder was sitting calmly on a small pillow with his eyes closed. Souske removed the sandals from his feet as he walked inside. He knelt down and sat back on his legs. Souske didn't say a word, but the elder knew he was there. "What's troubling you Souske?" he asked "How did you know something was troubling me?" "Souske I can read you like a book. Now what is it?" "It's a dream. A dream I had last night. But it wasn't a normal dream. It was a vision. I'm sure of it. Evil creatures have been attacking nearby villages. Creatures that seem human from a distance, but up close can only be described as demons. I saw them attacking Seyrun." "Souske, you've never been one to see visions. Are you sure that this is a vision of the future of Seyrun, and not just an image of the past from another town." "I am certain it is Seyrun. Ayane was in the vision. But besides that, I just know." "I believe you Souske. I believe that you had this dream, and that you honestly feel that it was a vision and not an ordinary dream. However all I can do is form a village guard. I can not evacuate the whole village because of this." "With all do respect, I urge you to reconsider. These demons have already leveled several surrounding towns. Not a one survived. A village guard will not stand a chance against them." "And if that is true, what do you think running will do? If they are truly as evil and powerful as you say, then what good will running do. I'm sorry Souske, but a village guard is the best I can do." Souske did not reply. Souske did not move for several moments. When he finally did he rose sharply and turned his back to the elder. He took a deep breath and put a smile on his face before walking joyfully outside. Souske was very good at hiding his emotions. He played with the children as joyfully as ever. When the sun began to set Souske returned to his house. His mother and sister knew nothing of why the village guard was assembling, and Souske was not inclined to tell them. Although Souske was not usually a part of the guard, he stood firm in his decision to join their ranks for the night. His mother protested, but to no avail. Souske strapped a standard straight sword to his waist along with a quiver of arrows. He lifted a bow off the ground and tested the string. He placed it over his head and let it hang across his chest. He walked out the door and into the night. Time passed slowly, and Souske's nerves made the situation worse. He couldn't stop pacing back and forth and fidgeting with the weapons at his side. "Would you stop pacing back and forth like that, it's driving me crazy." Said an exasperated man sitting off to the side. "Nothing's gonna happen anyway." "That is where you're wrong." Came Souske's reply. "Something will happen, and if any of us survive it will be a miracle." Just as the words left Souske's lips was when it happened, as if to validate his claim. A wave of red eyes came out of the woods; creatures that looked human, but at the same time demonic. Some held swords in their hand, others a bow, and others wore claws on their hands. The men in the village jumped up and drew their swords. Souske was no different. A moment of tension ensued, neither side making a move. Then all at once the demons moved. Souske charged forward screaming. He clutched his sword tight in his hand fearing that if he loosened his grip even the slightest bit he might drop it. He came in with a hard upward swing and felt his sword thud into the cut of an unlucky demon. Souske quickly wrenched it out and continued to run. Out of the corner of his eye Souske saw the glimmer of something. He quickly jerked his head back and felt a slight sting as an arrow left a cut across his left cheek. Souske turned and found the archer. But before he could move to take it out another villager ran I through. Their eyes met and they gave each other a nod of acknowledgement before turning away and reentering the fray Souske began to notice a definite thinning of the demon ranks, and just as he began to gain hope it was crushed. From deep in the woods came a wave of flaming arrows. They bombarded the village and before long it was completely ablaze. A new wave of swordsman came from the woods being lead by a mounted commander; it was a. A human! No, it couldn't be. However Souske knew he was right. His skin was slightly off color, a bit gray like the demons, but his eyes were normal. And the demonic presence that Souske felt in all the demons, he couldn't find in this man. This man showed a power far greater than the demons. It was a dark and evil power, but nor demonic. Whoever this man was, he was human. Suddenly a distinct scream struck Souske's ears and broke his attention from the mounted warrior. There was Ayane, running from a demonic swordsman. Souske quickly sheathed his sword and pulled the bow over his head and notched an arrow. He pulled back and closed one of his eyes as he aimed. The demon was too close to Ayane; he couldn't take this shot lightly. But that closeness was exactly why he had to shoot quickly. Suddenly realizing that he had no time left, Souske fired the shot. Then he gasped in horror as he noticed it begin to fade right. The arrow was going to miss. Souske broke into a run, trying against all odds to reach the demon before he could kill Ayane. Souske unsheathed his sword and knowing that he wouldn't make it in time, he threw it at the demon. End over end it spiraled toward him. This time the aim was true. It came closer, closer. Then with a thud it stuck through the demons head. Instantly the demon fell to the ground. Souske kept running now in a mad rush to retrieve his sword. He raced by and ripped the sword free. He slid on the dirt and spun around. "Nigero Ayane." He said in a forceful tone that left no room for argument. Ayane quickly took off running away from the village. She was far clear of the battle and Souske began to feel a moment of relief. Suddenly Souske heard something go flying past his ear. He turned and then following the path saw an arrow flying toward Ayane. "Abunai, Ayane!" he screamed, but it was too late. The arrow struck Ayane in the back. She staggered and fell to the ground. Souske turned and saw the shooter. It was the mounted human. His bow was still held up from the shot. A slight smile spread across his face.  
"Kisama." Souske muttered under his breath. He took off running at full speed toward the rider. "Yurusan!" he yelled as he closed in. Souske flew into the air and rammed his shoulder into the man. The horse started and shook its already off-balance rider to the ground. The man hit the ground and quickly rolled to the side and regained his footing. The horse took off running from the battle.  
"You killed Ayane. She was a little girl, completely unarmed; she was running away from this. And you killed her! Yurusan!" Souske charged the man. He quickly unsheathed his sword and blocked the attack. His sword was different, it was thinner than any sword Souske had seen before and slightly curved backward. This was a sword that took a man of incredible skill to use. In the hands of an amateur it would mean certain death for the wielder, but in the hands of a master it meant certain death for his enemies.  
Souske swung is sword hard and forced the man back. He charged forward and was again blocked by his enemy  
"You seem to have some skill, but some skill is not enough to stop me. I'm going to give you a treat. I'll kill you with my noryoku." The man held up his sword and then swung it down. An arc of pure black surged from the blade. It came closer toward Souske, closer, and closer. He held his sword out to block the attack. However when the black reached the blade it sliced right through it. There was nothing now between Souske and the arc of blackness that would be his death. Souske's vision went black and he waited for his death to come. He was on his back flat on the ground. He slowly opened his eyes as he tried to adjust to the bright light. "This must be the afterlife." Souske thought to himself. He tried to get up, but his whole body hurt. Souske slowly got up trying to ease the aching pain he felt in his whole body. He looked around and was shocked at what he saw. "This isn't the afterlife." He stammered. What Souske saw was the remains of his village. Burnt to the ground all that was left was piles of charred wood. All around him lay the bodies of the villagers. It was a sight Souske wished he had never seen. People he had known and loved were surrounding him, their bodies horribly disfigured. Souske examined himself. His body, besides being incredibly sore, was fine. He felt his face and all that was there was the cut he had cotton from the arrow. "How did I survive?" Souske asked himself. "That man he sent that wave a blackness at me. I could feel the power in it. It sliced right through my sword and was about to kill me. But it didn't. Somehow it didn't." Souske slowly got up and walked around the village. He soon came to the place where the Ayane-chan had died. He pulled the arrow from her back and threw it aside. Souske lifted her body from the ground and held it in his arms. A tear fell onto her hand. Souske reached up and closed her eyes, and then he let the tears flow. Souske's village had not been the first one to fall victim to the demons, nor would it be the last. However Souske had survived for a reason. He would become one of the major players in the chain of events that followed the destruction of his village. The chain of events known as The Demon War  
  
Well, what did you think? Please review, I'm eager to hear what you all have to say. Criticize, praise, suggest, or at the least could you just let me know you read it. I like to at least know this is being read by someone. Anyway gotta go, dinner time. I can taste the ramen already. later 


	2. Souske's Choice

Author's Note: I know this one is pretty short, but it just needed to be isolated. They will be getting longer with each chapter for a little while. Anyway here's the second chapter, enjoy.  
  
Chapter 2: Souske's Choice  
  
Souske searched the village for some time. Hoping against hope that he may yet find someone alive. However it was a fruitless search. Souske was the only survivor of the attack. However he could not fight against the truth forever. He eventually gave in and accepted the fact that everyone he had known and loved was dead and gone.  
  
"They're all gone," Souske muttered under his breath, "everyone, my family, my fellow villagers, even the little children. All of them." Souske walked over to the body of his sister. "Amelia, I'm sorry. I never showed you how much I loved you all. I took you for granted. Now you're gone. And I don't have a chance to change anything. All I can do now is give you a proper burial." Souske picked up the body and carried it into the center of the village. He laid her gently onto the ground. Souske began to walk with a purpose as he went over to a nearby house and picked a shovel up off the ground. For the first time since the attack happened, Souske began to pull himself back together. He dug fervently and wouldn't allow himself a moment's rest. When he was finished he again lifted his sister's body from the ground. He leaned over and gently laid her on the bottom. Tears fell from Souske's eyes and landed on his Amelia's chest, where they were quickly covered by dirt as Souske began to fill the hole again.  
  
Although Souske was the sole survivor in the village he was not alone at the moment. A cloaked figure hid within a tree, crouched down on a branch. He watched Souske closely as he continued at his task, oblivious to the observer.  
  
"It seems you've finally begun to move on," the cloaked figure spoke to himself, "just as I expected. Yes, you will be strong indeed, I will see to that." The man pulled his cloak over him and melded into the surroundings. The leaves rustled slightly as he leapt from branch to branch invisible to the eye.  
  
Souske finished filling the hole and left in search of sticks and a vine to make a small cross. He walked over to a small tree off to the right.  
  
"This always was your favorite tree, only fitting that it give its wood to your cross." Souske said, wishing that Amelia could be here to hear the words. He snapped off two sticks from the tree and took a vine off of the trunk of another nearby tree. He quickly lashed them together into a cross. He walked back over to the grave and drove the cross into the ground at the head. Souske knelt down and said a short, but heartfelt prayer to his sister.  
  
He slowly rose to his feet and left. However as he walked away he couldn't help noticing the bodies of Ayane, his mother, the elder, and all of the men who had fought with the village guard. Souske knew that these people deserved graves too. So he set himself to the task of digging graves for everyone in the village. All the while being watched from the trees by a mysterious man.  
  
It took Souske several days, but he finally had finished with the graves. He said the final prayer and got up. He turned from the graves and looked out into the sky.  
  
"What should I do now?" Souske asked himself. "There is nothing left here for me, and I have nowhere else to go."  
  
"Where you go from here is a choice only you can make." Replied a voice from behind. Souske spun around and looked up at the speaker. It was the same man that had been watching Souske from the trees. However Souske had never noticed him.  
  
"Who are you? What do you want?"  
  
"My name is of no consequence, all you must know is that I am someone who has great interest in the demons and the legends surrounding them. As for what I want, that is simple, I wish for the downfall of Onime and his legions."  
  
"Onime? What's that?"  
  
"The question is not what, but who. Onime is someone whom I believe you know all to well."  
  
"He was the one who lead the assault on my village."  
  
"He leads not just attacks, but the entire demon legion itself."  
  
"But why is he helping the demons, he's human isn't he? And what was that black energy he was using?"  
  
"The answers to those questions, and many more, you will find out in due time. However I have not come to entertain your curiosity. I have come for a very different reason. I've come to ask for your help in fighting the demons."  
  
"Me! You must be mistaken. I may be skilled with a sword, but I'm no match for their numbers, not to mention Onime. I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do to stop them."  
  
"How can you still believe that you are no different from a skilled swordsman? After what you did on the night they attacked."  
  
"What are you talking about; I failed that night, everyone died."  
  
"Wrong. You survived." Souske opened his mouth as if to counter the statement, but he stopped before saying anything and closed his mouth a puzzled look appearing on his face. "You can't deny that. The demon army has burned many villages to the ground. In all the others they left no survivors. How can you possibly say that you're no different? You survived because Onime ran from you."  
  
"Onime ran. You mean he ran from me."  
  
"Yes, he ran because of you. Because he was afraid to take you on."  
  
"But, why? Why would he run from me, I didn't stand a chance against him?"  
  
"Wrong again. True had he stayed he may have won against you. However, you may have won that fight. That was a risk Onime was not willing to take, not this early."  
  
"But why? What could I ever do that could defeat him?"  
  
"If you want the answer to that question you must follow me. Come with me and I will teach you everything. I will aid you in achieving your full power. The road along which I will guide you is not an easy one. If you choose to take it your life will be full of pain and suffering. The choices along the path will be difficult, but if you follow it, then maybe, just maybe, you will defeat Onime and put an end to the demons once and for all. The choice is one that only you can make. I'll give you one week to decide. After that time I will return. Give me your answer then." The man threw his cloak around him and disappeared.  
  
"Me, defeat Onime." Souske chuckled at the thought. "But, there is something about that man that makes me want to believe him. Something I can't quit describe, but something I can feel."  
  
Souske turned from the building where the mysterious person had been. He went over to the edge of the woods and rested his back on a tree. "Can I really defeat him? His power is incredible, but I did survive. That is the one thing I can't deny. Somehow, for whatever reason, I survived." Souske continued to ponder what the man had said. Lost in thought, he didn't notice as the hours slipped by, and before long it was dark. Souske let himself slip down onto the grass and shortly after that sleep claimed him.  
  
The early morning sun awoke Souske the next morning. He squinted as his eyes began to adjust to the bright light. Souske was granted a brief respite before the memory of the mysterious man from the previous day. Yet again he was faced with the choice of whether he should follow the man or simply move on with his life. It was a choice that he could not bring himself to make. The days past and Souske spent all of his waking moments trying to come to a decision. The seventh day had come and the mysterious man was coming soon. Souske still did not have an answer. He paced around the burnt remains of the village, his mind racing trying to come up with a solution. But one would not come.  
  
Souske found himself in front of the graves he had dug for the villagers. He stopped and stared at them. He picked out the ones that held his sister, his mother, Ayane, and the elder. All of them had died at the hands of the demons and Onime. Souske remembered the pain he had felt when he saw Ayane killed before his very eyes. He remembered the suffering it had caused him to burry the people he had spent his whole life with. Finally, Souske had his answer.  
  
At that very moment, as if knowing Souske had made his choice, the man arrived. He leaped from a tree in the nearby woods and landed softly in front of Souske.  
  
"Have you made your choice?" He asked.  
  
"Look around at this village. There is so much death here. So much pain and suffering. What happened here must never be repeated again." Souske took a deep breath as he prepared to make his choice once and for all. "I will go with you, that is my choice. Regardless of the road that I must take, if it can prevent something like this from happening again, I will take it."  
  
"Then we leave now. The first step of your journey begins here."  
  
"Will you tell me where we are going?"  
  
"Not yet, you must trust me fore now."  
  
"How can I trust when I don't know anything about you?"  
  
"My name is Subaru. The rest you will learn in time. Now, we must leave now. We have a long journey ahead of us and the demons will not wait for us to complete it."  
  
Anyway, what did you think. I like the way it's coming out. This may be the first story of mine that I actually like. In the next chapter there is going to be a good deal of explaining. Like what is special about Souske and where Subaru is taking him. Anyway til next time. 


	3. Mezameo Ryu

Chapter 3: Mezameo, Ryu  
  
Subaru and Souske left that day and journeyed through the woods toward the mountainous regions to the west. Even though many roads traveled in that direction, Subaru refused to take them. Every time Souske asked to take one of those roads he would simply reply.  
  
"The woods will be faster and safer. That is the route we will take." There was no room left to argue and Souske quickly learned to just shut up and follow Subaru. The pace was quick and Souske quickly found himself tiring greatly.  
  
"Can we take a break?" moaned Souske. "My feet are killing me and I feel like I'm about to fall asleep."  
  
"We can rest when night falls. Until then we need to move." Souske moaned loudly at these words but forced himself to move on. His stride became weak and his feet barely left the ground. It was all he could do to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Souske forced himself to keep walking despite the fact that he was beginning to black out. He was suddenly shocked back into reality when his foot hit a rock in the path. In his exhausted state he fell forward like a rock and crashed into the dirt path.  
  
Subaru turned and saw him there on the ground. He walked over and lifted him up into his arms. Without a moment's pause he carried Souske a short ways further until he found a small clearing in the forest. He laid Souske down in the leaves and let him sleep. Subaru gathered some small sticks from nearby and placed them together in a nice pile with some leaves. He reached into his cloak and pulled out two stones. He used them to spark the leaves and quickly used the flame to begin burning the sticks. The fire began to grow and Subaru began adding bigger sticks until he had created a nice fire. With the fire complete Subaru sat down on the ground and leaned his back up against a tree. Subaru stared up into the sky and closed his eyes. Before long, he too fell asleep.  
  
Dawn came quickly and the morning light awoke Subaru. He glanced over and noticed that Souske was till fast asleep.  
  
"He will need his strength soon, the least I can do is let him rest now." Subaru went off into the woods to find something for breakfast. He leaped from tree to tree keeping perfectly silent. He pulled his cloak around him and vanished from view. With the cloak around him Subaru was completely undetectable and it was not long before a deer came near enough for Subaru to strike. He reached behind his back and pulled out a small sword from its scabbard on the back of his waist. He leaped from the tree and with one fluid motion claimed his meal. By the time he returned Souske was already awake.  
  
"Ohaeyo, Souske." Souske glanced up at Subaru and then turned his head away. "What's wrong?" Souske looked up into the sky and then answered.  
  
"I'm not sure I made the right choice." He rose to his feet and looked Subaru in the eye. "How do I know I haven't made a terrible mistake?"  
  
"You don't." Souske seemed somewhat taken aback by the answer. "Not now. In time you will see the path you must walk. At that time you will know. But for now you have to trust me." Subaru dragged the deer into the opening and placed it in front of him. What he did next was something Souske had never seen. He began to create many hand seals, and uttering an indiscernible chant. Then he suddenly folded his hands together and stuck his fingers forward pointing at the deer. Without warning flames erupted from the dead animal. Subaru focused on them and was obviously keeping them burning. Subaru broke the hand seal and when he did the flames vanished just as quickly as they had come. Subaru removed a large portion of meat from the animal and began to eat it. Souske continued the stare.  
  
"What just happened?" The words seemed hesitant as if Souske was afraid to speak them.  
  
"That was the power that was given to me. I have the ability to use those complex seals to call the elements to do my will. However it pales in comparison to the strength you will possess."  
  
"What power. You have still told me nothing of what I am to become."  
  
"And I won't, at least not yet. When you awaken you will know everything. That is all I can tell you. Now eat, we have a long way to go." Souske was hesitant about eating the meat, but couldn't deny that he was starving. So he gave in and ate. In truth it was the best meal he had ever had. Although in all fairness he was also the hungriest he had ever been. Once Souske and Subaru had eaten their fill they continued on the journey. The two moved at a quick pace, and whenever they grew hungry Subaru would kill an animal and cook it as he had before.  
  
They continued in this pattern for several days. Until finally they arrived at the destination. The mountains that had been far off in the distance now surrounded them. And before them stood the entrance to a deep dark cave. Subaru walked forward and beckoned Souske to follow him. They wandered deeper and deeper into the cave and the darkness surrounding seemed to grow deeper as they traveled. Souske starred around him trying to glimpse something in the darkness. However nothing revealed itself to him. Souske however was so focused on the darkness around him that he did not notice that Subaru had stopped in front of him. The two collided and Souske found himself on the cold hard floor. Slowly he got back to his feet and watched Subaru as he stood still. The silence that had surrounded the two since they entered the cave was broken as Subaru called out to someone Souske could not see  
  
"Here my call and open the door so the protector of your child may pass." For a moment the call went unanswered. Light suddenly flooded from either side of the two as two torches went ablaze with a green flame. Before them stood a large stone door with strange marking on it. This door slid aside into the wall and revealed a splendid chamber lit by the same green flame. Souske slowly followed Subaru as he entered. It was a circular room with statues and pillars adorning the edge. At the opposite end of the room was a set of stairs leading up and into an alcove that contained a larger and more elaborate door than the one before, however the markings seemed similar to the other ones. No one was in the room, however just as he had done before Subaru called out to someone.  
  
"Sylphreed, Goddess of the Wind, open your doors and receive the one you gave birth to. Let your child enter." When Subaru finished there was again a short pause before the inner doors opened. "Go Souske, through those doors is where your destiny will be realized. Beyond that door is where you will find the answers you seek." Souske walked toward the open door and then became aware that his footsteps were the only ones he heard. He turned and found that Subaru was not going to follow him.  
  
"Why won't you come with me Subaru?"  
  
"Beyond that door is a place only one may go. None can follow beyond that threshold. Now hurry, time is not our ally." Souske turned and took a deep breath. He feared what he would find and did not like venturing into the unknown without Subaru to protect him. He took a deep breath and walked forward through the door. Just as he passed them they closed behind him, leaving him in total darkness.  
  
Subaru watched as the door closed, and once it had he breathed a sigh of relief. He slowly turned and looked back out the door that opened into the cave.  
  
"He shall not be yours Onime. No matter how powerful you are even you cannot touch him while he is under the divine protection of Sylphreed."  
  
"So it would seem." Replied a voice from out in the darkness. Then a figure walked forward and allowed the light to shine on his face. His dark hair hung loosely down to his shoulders and his eyes where coal black. He now wore loose flowing black clothes opposed to the armor he had worn before, but it was still without doubt the same person. Onime had come.  
  
Souske searched the darkness for something, however darkness was all he could find. But in response to this darkness, just as had happened before, torches erupted with a green flame that gave light to the room. It was small and rather simple. A short set of stairs led to a raised area that contained a small altar and behind the altar, carved in the wall, was the a statue of a women, the same statue Souske had seen in the outer room. As Souske observed the room a column of light came down from the ceiling and through it came the glowing body of the women pictured in the statues  
  
"Welcome back, my child." She said as she stared down at Souske from the air above the altar.  
  
"Who are you? What do you mean by child?"  
  
"I am Sylphreed, the Goddess of the Wind, and you are my child. The one whom I gave life to."  
  
"What do you mean by Goddess of the Wind?"  
  
"My meaning is simple. Goddess of the Wind means exactly what it says. However the role I played and the story of your birth is what I will tell you."  
  
The sound of metal on metal echoed through the chamber as Subaru and Onime fought. The two flew through the air rebounding off the walls and crossing swords in mid-air.  
  
"Your skills are quite good, for someone who is not one of the Mahouski. However they fail to even come close to those of one who is." Said Onime as he swung his sword and tried to force his blade through Subaru's. Onime swung his sword hard and forced Subaru back. He then held out his hand and unleashed a burst of black at Subaru. Subaru quickly dived to the side and while he was in the air he quickly sheathed his sword and began creating the hand seals. He then released them and held one hand forward. Lightning jumped from the palm of his hand and raced toward Onime. Onime held his hand out toward the bolts.  
  
"Yami Kekkai!" he yelled and a wall of darkness appeared before him and absorbed the lightning bolts. Subaru stood crouched down on the floor as he redrew his blade from behind him. He leaped forward and attacked Onime.  
  
"My story begins with the formation of the world. I was one of the six who crafted this world into existence. Setsuna the God of Fire, Raiha the God of Thunder, Rana the Goddess of Water, Baramunk the God of Light, Kurenai the God of Dark, and myself. We each added out own element into the creation and created a perfect balance. However Kurenai was not happy with balance. He began to pour is darkness into the world. That is when man was born. Man was the creation forged when the darkness collected. Baramunk countered this by pouring his light into the world and trying to turn man into a holy creature. Kurenai became very angry when the plan started to work. He redoubled his efforts to flood the world with evil. Baramunk reacted by placing six seals around the earth to consume and restrict the evil power. Kurenai was enraged at Baramunk's ability to prevent all of his plans from coming to fruition. So he acted directly against Baramunk. He could not kill him, but he managed to seal him into a special crystal, called a Spirit Crystal. He broke this crystal into five fragments and cast them into the world.  
  
He then began to pour vast amounts of darkness into the land. This darkness overflowed the seals and flooded into the world. It corrupted many humans greatly and transformed them. That was the birth of demons. The four of us united and defeated Kurenai. However before we could do so he poured almost all of his power into the earth. His dark powers could not be neutralized as they where by Baramunk. So instead Setsuna, Raiha, and Rana created warriors within the world and gave them the powers of the elements. These three warriors were their children, the Mahouski, Honoski Kenji the Mahouski of Fire, Kaminariski Hikaru the Mahouski of Thunder, and Mizuski Sei the Mahouski of Water. However the evil energy of Kurenai had not all manifested in the world. And because of this another warrior was formed. Yamiski Onime the Mahouski of Darkness. The warrior that could crush all of the Mahouski. However I had not yet given birth to a Mahouski. And so I created you, Kazeski Ryu, the Mahouski of Wind. The most powerful of the Mahouski. A fierce battle ensued, and in the end the four, led by you, prevailed and Onime was defeated. The demons were cast into the depths of the earth were they were sealed away. Peace was restored. Kenji, Sei, Hikaru, and Ryu vanished from the world.  
  
But the peace did not last. Somehow Onime was revived. He broke the seal and led his demon armies into the world above. And now we are awakening the other four Mahouski. Kenji, Sei, Hikaru, and Ryu have always lived, but they remained asleep. Hiding their power. However you can sleep no longer. Onime must be stopped and therefore you must be revived. The most powerful of the Mahouski shall live again. Mezameo Ryu! Shed the false form of Souske and be reborn as Ryu of the Wind!"  
  
A bright light suddenly filled the room and within that light Souske was forever lost. When the light faded it left behind Souske's body, but it was different. He wore the same loose cotton clothes as Onime did; only his were a white. At his side slipped under the cloth belt around his waist hung a katana, the same style of blade wielded by Onime. He was the leader of the four Mahouski sent to combat the darkness and the only one that could truly rival Onime. Ryu had awakened.  
  
The fight between Onime and Subaru raged on. The two warriors bounded around the chamber trying to get a clean hit against the other. Subaru leaped from one of the walls and quickly dodged a blast of darkness thrown at him by Onime. He rolled across the floor and stopped on his knees waiting for Onime to make a move. His concentration was fixed on Onime when suddenly he felt a powerful force from within the inner chamber. Subaru looked toward the door and a smile spread across his face. He rose to his feet and starred at Onime  
  
"You feel it too. Ryu has awakened." As Subaru said that the door to the inner room opened slowly. Ryu stood there and looked over at Subaru. Subaru looked back and at that moment Onime attacked. He charged at Subaru with his sword ready. Subaru couldn't block or dodge the attack. However Ryu could stop him. He threw his hand forward and unleashed of burst of wind. It surged forward and hit Onime sending him flying him into a wall. Onime slowly rose back to his feet and stared at Ryu. Ryu stared back and then without breaking his concentration he drew his sword. He held it down in front of him and placed his other hand on the blade. A green light began to grow on the blade and then he grasped the sword in both hands and held it pointing forward with has arms bent back ready to lunge. However Ryu was not going to charge Onime. He was executing one of his special attacks.  
  
"Juk Drive!" he yelled and pushed the sword forward. The green light flared up and then vanished as a massive blast of wind flew from the blade. It was much wider and far more powerful than the one he had used at first. This one struck Onime and threw him through the outer door. Onime was thrown from the cave. He crashed out on the ground and after climbing to his feet he decided to retreat.  
  
Ryu sheathed his sword and walked over to Subaru. He smiled slightly before he fell forward. Subaru caught him lowered him onto the ground.  
  
"Sylphreed! What happened, Ryu didn't get hurt why did he collapse." Sylphreed!" The goddess floated out of the inner chamber and stared at Subaru.  
  
"You of all people should know the answer to that. Although Ryu is awake he is not at his full power. That attack took a great toll on him. He is not hurt, simply exhausted. Stay with him Subaru. Even though he is the Kazeski he is still very vulnerable. As he fights and uses his abilities he will grow stronger. Until he has fully awakened you must continue to protect him." Sylphreed began to fade from view and her form became transparent. "It seems that Ryu is not the only one who has used up their power. I must rest. Subaru, guide him and protect him. Seek out the other three. Mizuski Sei, Honoski Kenji, and Kaminariski Hikaru. Only together will they stand a chance of winning this war." After speaking those final words Sylphreed faded away into nothing. 


	4. Hiden in Shadow

Author's Note: Okay this one has more action in it and is a bit longer. This chapter has a bit of a surprise in it, at least I hope it comes as a surprise. Anyone enjoy and R&R

Chapter 4: Hidden in Shadow

It was several days before Ryu finally woke from his deep sleep. Subaru hadn't dared to move him during this time. He knew that going out into the open was risky enough, but doing it with Ryu completely knocked out was simply insane. Subaru would not risk leaving Ryu alone except for his short trips out to gather food. And these Subaru kept very quick and always stayed near the cave. When Ryu finally awoke he did so with a start. The sudden movement startled Subaru and he found himself on his feet very quickly.

"Oh your finally awake." Commented Subaru.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"A couple days, not long considering what happened."

"No it isn't, but it is still time I would have rather not spent here. Time is running out. I can feel the darkness already beginning to affect this land. Onime must be stopped. Have the others awakened yet?

"If they have it has only been recently. Their energy will be difficult to sense from any distance.

"The three other shrines are far to the west. We must head that way and take the most direct route. As long as we remain divided the four of us will lose this war."

"But aren't you strong enough to defeat Onime on your own?"

"At full power I can handle Onime. But not only am I not at full power I have Onime and his army to deal with. I have to reunite with the other three. And I have to do it quickly. If you can I would be honored to have you accompany me on this journey."

"And I would be honored to go with you, Kazeski Ryu."

"We leave right away. I want to get far from this cave before nightfall."

"Ryu, will you at least eat something before you leave?" Ryu suddenly became aware of a nagging pain in his stomach.

"I guess we can spare time for a short meal. Can you take care of that Subaru?"

"Not a problem." Subaru rose and left the cave pulling the cloak over him as he left. Ryu sat on the stone floor and pulled his sword, still sheathed, from his belt. He held it in front of him and gazed upon it. He pulled lightly on the blade and removed a small portion of it from the sheath. He focused his gaze onto his reflection upon the blade.

"So I must fight again." He said out loud, though to no one in particular. "I was hoping that I would never have to come back into this world. But it seems circumstances will not allow that to happen. I guess I have no choice but to fight." Ryu snapped his sword back into the sheath and returned it to his belt. By this time Subaru had returned with several small animals. He cooked them using his flame and passed one of them to Ryu before claiming one for himself. The two ate quickly and in silence. Now with stomachs full and minds set, the two set off to find the other the other three Mahouski. Ryu lead the way as they walked out of the cave.

The light flooded over them as they exited the cave. Ryu and Subaru both found themselves squinting and shielding their eyes with their arms. Ryu walked slowly until his eyes adjusted to the light. The two walked in silence as they marched up the mountain. Ryu reached the peak and paused as he looked out before him. The land showed no sign of the evil that was engulfing it. However Ryu could plainly feel it.

"There is a village a few miles past the base of this mountain. That's our first stop."

"You don't mean to go through the Akai Forest do you."

"That's the most direct route. So that's the way were going."

"But the demon shades have taken a liking to the place. The shades aren't the most powerful of the demon army, but they are still a serious threat. Especially in your current state."

"That is the path I'm taking Subaru. If you don't like it I won't force you to follow me. However I won't allow you to stop me."

Ryu left no time for Subaru to argue anymore. He walked past the summit and began making his way back down the mountain, and straight toward the Akai Forest. Subaru opened his mouth to protest some more, however he closed it without saying a word, realizing that it was useless.

"Shikatanai." Said Subaru before he followed Ryu down the mountain. Ryu wasted no time in getting down the mountain. He slid across the rocks most of the way traveling straight down the side. Subaru wouldn't have chosen that way, but he had to keep up with Ryu, and for that reason he had no choice. Ryu paused for a moment in front of the Akai Forest. He glanced back at Subaru as he slid down the mountain and stopped along side of Ryu.

"You're serious about this aren't you?" asked Subaru still hoping for Ryu to change his mind.

"Of course. This forest isn't that deep, but it is very wide. Going around it would take several days to do. However we can get through it in under a day. The shades do bother me, but we don't have a choice."

"Then let's go. If we must go through the forest, let's at least make it quick."

"Okay." Ryu stepped forward and into the darkness of the Akai Forest. The woods were very thick and making sure they followed a straight path was important. Subaru and Ryu had only been walking a short time before most of the light around them was gone. A minor amount of sunlight provided them with barely enough light to see by. Ryu and Subaru continued to walk carefully through the forest. Trying not to attract any unwanted attention. Ryu came to a stop in the middle of the forest and reached his hand across his chest and gripped his sword.

"Subaru, time for some light."

"Ryokai." Subaru starting running through the hand seals as quickly as he could. Then he quickly summoned a bright flame on the ground. He broke the seal, and this time the flame stayed. Subaru reached his hand behind him and pulled his sword from its sheath. Ryu looked around at the shades in the trees that now surrounded them. They had the same demonic look as the ghouls that had attacked Souske, however they didn't wield blades. Instead they had claws attached to each of their hands. They were dressed in all black and were clearly much faster and more skilled than the ghouls were. Ryu shifted his front leg forward and leaned forward as he tightened his grip on the blade and gasped the neck of the sheath with the other. He pushed his thumb forward and sprung the blade from the notch that kept it secure. For a moment everyone stood still, none of them wanting to make the first move. One of the shades must have shifted its weight because one of the branches snapped and fell to the ground. This noise triggered the two groups to move.

Ryu ran at one of the shades as it jumped from this tree. He unsheathed the blade and swung it through the demon in one motion and then turned to find another. The shades moved quickly and they were very agile. However speed and agility was Ryu's specialty. He moved with lightning speed through the forest. Rebounding off trees and taking out demons in the air. The fight was going well for Ryu and Subaru. Until something unexpected happened. Ryu heard a faint whirling coming from in front of him. He heard it move along side him and then it began to turn. It was moving very fast and coming around from behind them.

"Subaru abunai!" Ryu shouted as he dropped to the ground. Subaru followed Ryu's lead and fell onto the ground just in time. Something came flying overtop of them and sliced through several trees as it went by. Ryu watched it as it flew off into the woods.

"What the hell was that?" Yelled Subaru as he dodged a shade.

"Someone threw a boomerang at us. It's coming again. Subaru watch my back." Subaru moved close to Ryu defending him from the attacks of the shades. Ryu closed his eyes focusing on the sound. He heard it turn and come at them. Ryu faced it and held his sword to his side. He listened as it got closer and closer to him. Suddenly Ryu swung his katana upward with great force. He sliced the boomerang in half and the pieces stuck in the trees around them.

"Whatever threw that is coming our way. Subaru we need to take care of these shades now. Ryu and Subaru both started fighting as hard as they could. Once the last shade had fallen Subaru put out the flame and the two warriors leaped into the trees. They spread out and listened as the footsteps came closer. Ryu was right. Someone was coming after them. Ryu strained his eyes to see what had thrown that boomerang. A large figure began to come into view. Subaru pulled his cloak around him and Ryu made sure that he was hidden from view. The warrior was big and he wore heavy armor. A large sword hung by his side. He looked human except for the demonic eyes. He looked around and noticed the two halves of his boomerang embedded in trees.

"Only one of the Mahouski has enough skill to slice my boomerang in mid flight. They must not be allowed to leave this forest alive." The warrior looked around trying to find a trace of where Ryu had gone. As he moved Ryu noticed something on his shoulder, a small red mark on his armor. It was a circle with a skull in it. The mark was one that Ryu recognized at once. It was a mark worn by Onime's top demons. His generals. They lead were incredibly powerful and Onime had used them before as his special forces. He would send them into battle alone against entire villages. And they would always return victorious. This man was incredibly powerful and Ryu would not dare fight him now.

"You can't hide from me Mahouski." Stated the general. He looked around and then he starred right at Ryu. "You're right there!" The demon drew his sword and jumped up after Ryu. Ryu quickly leapt from that tree and into another. The general ran after him Ryu leapt from tree to tree as quickly as he could. The general followed him slashing down trees as he chased Ryu. This wouldn't have been a problem for Ryu except the demon had another boomerang. He let it fly and in all the commotion, Ryu didn't notice it. It turned and started heading right for Ryu. He barely had enough to dodge it and found himself falling to the ground as the branch supporting him was sliced from the tree. Ryu quickly drew his sword and blocked the demons attack. He landed safely on his feet, but now he had no choice but to fight the general.

"So it was you Kazeski Ryu. Just as I thought."

"So it is. You seem to have an unfair advantage. You know me, but I don't know you."

"I am one of Onime's four generals, Hachigeki."

"I don't have time to fool around with you. So I'm going to make this quick." Ryu sheathed his sword and crossed his arms above his head. He uncrossed them and then pulled them both down and thrust them out together. "Midorino Zenphun!" he yelled and unleashed wave after wave of wind blades. Hachigeki crossed his arms and shielded himself from the attack. The blades bashed into his armor and broke apart. Ryu stared in shock as his attack failed to inflict any real damage.

"Don't tell me that's all the power a Mahouski has." Hachigeki said as he chuckled. He rushed toward Ryu with his sword in front of him. Ryu quickly drew his katana and blocked the attack as he jumped back into the trees. He leaped quickly from tree to tree jumping all around Hachigeki. He then quickly rebounded off a tree and dove straight at Hachigeki. However the demon general ducked and Ryu flew over top of him. Ryu hit the ground and flipped backward sheathing his sword in mid air. He held his hands in front of his chest with the right hand above the left and turned down, his left was turned upward and both were curved in slightly. Wind began to flow around him and gather in between his hands forming a small ball.

"Let's see how you handle this attack." Ryu flipped his right hand up and pulled it back. The ball stayed in the palm of his hand. "Kazadama!" he yelled and swung his hand forward and the ball of wind was sent spinning toward Hachigeki. It moved quickly toward Hachigeki and struck him in the chest. The initial blow was not much, however the spinning wore down the armor and broke through it. Hachigeki was thrown to the ground by the attack. Ryu took this opportunity to run. He bounded through the trees and ran. Hachigeki was slow to get up from the attack and when he did Ryu was gone. Ryu stopped on a branch and waited for Subaru to join him. However Subaru did not appear.

"Subaru." Ryu called quietly, however no response came. Ryu called again this time a bit louder. However it was the same response. Ryu had no choice but to go back to where he had fought Hachigeki. That was most likely where Subaru was. Ryu was careful to keep quiet as he made his way back. Ryu paused as he heard footsteps in the distance. He crouched down on his branch and listened closely. He heard voices, but couldn't make out what they were saying. Ryu moved closer until he could make out what was being said

"Which one are you?" asked a gruff voice. Ryu recognized it as Hachigeki. "Kenji, Hikaru, or is it possible you aren't a Mahouski."

"Like I would tell you." Came the reply. Ryu recognized this voice also. It was Subaru. Ryu dropped to the ground fearing that approaching from the trees would make too much noise. He crept slowly closer and closer to Hachigeki and Subaru. Slowly the figures became visible. Subaru was on the ground with his back against a tree. His face and robes were bloody and a few dead shades where on the ground near him. Subaru must have been fighting when Hachigeki showed up. Ryu crouched down low, keeping himself concealed in the shadows. He gripped his sword and slowly drew it from its sheath.

"What should I do?" Ryu thought to himself. I've already used up most of my noryoku. Midorino Zenphun might kill Subaru, and it won't work against Hachigeki. Kazadama takes too long to charge and Hachigeki has seen it already. He'll undoubtedly dodge it. The move I need is Juk Drive. But the only reason I could use that before was because Sylphreed was giving me her power. I can't even use that at all with my current power, much less now, when my energy is so low. There's only one hope. It uses minimal noryoku, and has a great power output. But it takes a long time to use. Hachigeki will have plenty of time to kill me if he wants. But it's my only chance." Ryu tensed his muscles and watched for a chance when he could hit Hachigeki and not hurt Subaru.

"Won't talk will you. In that case I guess I'll have to kill you." Hachigeki stepped to the side and drew his sword. And that was the moment Ryu had been waiting for. Just when Hachigeki raised his sword to deliver the blow Ryu jumped out from behind the tree.

"I'm the one you want. Leave him be." With those words Ryu raised his sword and swung it straight down creating an arc of wind. However it didn't move. The wind spiraled in that thin arc. Hachigeki charged toward Ryu with his sword out in front of him. However just before he reached Ryu his sword was knocked aside as Subaru flew across and struck his sword hard.

"Imana Ryu!" yelled Subaru.

"Right, Kurai, Kaze Souga!" Ryu swung his sword horizontally creating a second arc of wind that overlapped the first one. The two blades merged together and created a massive spiral. It surged forward colliding with Hachigeki. It threw him from his feet and sent him flying through several trees.

"Subaru, Let's go." Ryu grabbed Subaru by the waist and jumped into the trees. Ryu ran from tree to tree holding Subaru under his arm. "This better be the right way, or we're in big trouble." Ryu moved quickly not sure if Hachigeki was following them or not. Ryu noticed that the light around was slowly increasing.

"Hang on Subaru, we're almost out of the forest." Subaru didn't respond and Ryu didn't want to stop and see why not. He continued to jump through the trees toward the growing light. Then the light grew so bright that Ryu had to shield his eyes from it. And just then he reached the edge of the forest. Ryu leapt down the last tree and landed on the ground. The area was wide open except for a few scattered rocks. Ryu ran toward one and got himself out of view from the Akai Forest. There he laid Subaru on his back and tore his robes apart to find the wound. Subaru's chest was covered with blood and he was unconscious. Ryu quickly spotted the slash mark across his chest. It was a single wound, most likely delivered by Hachigeki. Ryu looked around, but there was nothing he could use to clean the wound. Ryu took off his shirt and rapped it around the wound tightly.

"Hang on Subaru, We're going to that village. Maybe they can treat you there." Ryu picked up Subaru and put him over his shoulder. He tightened his grip and took of running. "I've got no other choice. Sei's the only one with healing powers, and I don't have anything to treat the wound with. Maybe this village can do something. At least keep you alive. If it had been one of the shades this won't be a problem, but if it was Hachigeki this will be very difficult. The generals carry tainted weapons. To a Mahouski they are no different than any other weapon. However to any one else, they are extremely deadly. Even the slightest scratch from them can kill. They are imbued with darkness. Not only will the wound not heal, but it will slowly kill the person, like a poison. A poison only the Mizuski can cure. Only Sei can do it. Please, this wound better not have been caused by Hachigeki." Ryu ran as fast as he could. Soon he saw the village appear over the horizon.

"Hold on Subaru, were almost there." He ran faster, and faster. Ryu entered the village just before the sun went down.

"Where's the doctor around here?" he asked loudly so everyone could here him. However rather than respond, they all just stared at him. "Why are you all staring, just tell me where he is." This time a single woman pointed to a building just off to the right. Ryu stormed in and searched for someone. There where a few beds in the back along with a few shelves full of various herbs and odd colored liquids. In the front was a small table with several books stacked on it. However no one was in the room. A door opened off to the side and a middle-aged man stepped out. He began to walk over to the books, but he stopped suddenly when he noticed Ryu standing in front of him with Subaru draped over his shoulder.

"What's going on?" asked the doctor

"Please, this man has a terrible wound on his chest. Please help him."

"Alright, set him on the bed over there." Replied the doctor indicating to the bed in the far corner. "What kind of wound is it?"

"A blade wound, and a bad one."

"Alright, let me work." The doctor opened a small cabinet on the wall and removed several roles of bandages from one of the shelves. He placed them on a small table by Subaru's bed. Then he reached onto the shelves on the back and pulled down various herbs and solutions. He also placed these on the bedside table. Then he moved next to Subaru. He removed Ryu's bloody shirt from his body and examined the wound

"This is a terrible wound. How did he receive it?"

"That is not your concern. Just help him." Replied Ryu in a more forceful tone then he had intended. "I'm sorry, but I don't have time to explain everything. After you've helped him I promise I will explain everything."

"Alright then. I'll hold you to that." With those words the doctor set to work. He pulled a cloth out from the cabinet on the wall and dunked it in a small barrel of water. He squeezed out most of the water and used it to wipe the blood from Subaru's chest. The wound was now very clear. It wasn't deep, but it ran all the way across his chest. The doctor reached to the table and picked up one of the solutions he had set there earlier. He splashed a bit of it on the cloth and whipped this over the wound. He then wrapped Subaru's entire chest in bandages. The blood continued to flow onto the bandages soaking them in blood. The doctor then added a second and third layer of bandage to the wound and made them rather tight. The blood did eventually stop seeping through. The doctor sighed and leaned back against the wall.

"There. That should take care of it. He will take a long time to recover mind you. But he will live."

"Arigatou, arigatou gozaimas."

"Now, tell me how this happened."

"Very well. May we sit? It is a long story." The doctor gestured over to the door from which he had first emerged. The two went through it and into a small room with a table and four chairs on one end, a bed on the other, and a fireplace in the wall between the two. Ryu sat at one of the chairs at the table. The doctor sat across from him.

"Now, the story."

"Alright. Where should I start? Might as well just be blunt about it. I am the Mahouski of Wind, Kazeski Ryu, and the man you helped is named Subaru. He is descendant of the Sumeregi bloodline. His job was to find and awaken the Mahouski from their long sleep. You see the Mahouski of legend have always been alive. Only sleeping in the bodies of normal people. Subaru's job was to find me and help me reach Sylphreed, where I could be awakened. Obviously he succeeded. However he also decided to help me find the others. Because my power is nothing compared to what it used to be. It will return in time, but until then I need Subaru's help. To shorten our time we traveled through the Akai Forest. We had no trouble with the shades, however one of Onime's generals, Hachigeki, was there as well. I managed to escape from him, but something happened to Subaru. When I found him again Hachigeki had captured him and he was badly wounded. I managed to buy enough time to get him and get out. Then I came here to try and save him." The doctor looked at Ryu for a moment and then grinned slightly.

"Excellent story, now for the truth." Said the doctor.

"That was the truth."

"You expect me to believe you are the Kazeski. Why you don't look a day older than 18."

"I'm 16 and I do expect you to believe I'm the Kazeski, because it's true."

"How can someone who defeated Onime several hundred years ago be 16?"

"I already told you, I have been living inside other people's bodies the whole time. This time I just happened to be 16 when I awoke."

"I have to give you credit, you are consistent."

"I guess this is the only way to make you believe." Ryu held his hand out to the side and summoned the wind to gather around it. The air whipped around it at incredible speeds, however the air elsewhere in the room was unaffected.

"You, you really are Ryu."

"Didn't I already tell you that." Replied Ryu closing his hand and stopping the wind. "Now will you believe me?"

"Forgive me Ryu. I had no idea." Begged the man.

"That is not an issue. All you have to do is take care of Subaru."

"Of course. I'll go check on him right now." The doctor left the room and went back with Subaru. Ryu leaned back in the chair and allowed himself to slide forward. He closed his eyes and was about to fall asleep when the door into the room burst open. Ryu opened his eyes and sat up with a start. The doctor was standing in front of him in a state of shear panic.

"Ryu-sama something's wrong with Subaru." Ryu practically jumped out of his seat and followed the doctor to the bed where Subaru was. The doctor began to undo the bandages and get back to the wound. When he removed the bandages Ryu stared at the wound. All around it was black. The wound had reopened and was bleeding heavily. The doctor looked over to Ryu.

"The wound reopened, and I've never seen anything like this mark around the cut." Ryu closed his eyes and took in a deep breath.

"No you wouldn't have seen this before. It's a cursed wound. I was hoping that one of the shades had done this, but it was Hachigeki."

"How can I cure it, Ryu-sama?"

"You can't, only Sei can."

"Sei? You mean Mizuski Sei-sama."

"Yes, only she has the ability to remove the demon taint from Subaru."

"Then what should I do, Ryu-sama?"

"Keep that blood in him. Do whatever you can, I have to find Sei." Ryu grabbed his bloody shirt from the bed next to Subaru. He pulled it on and crossed it over before tucking it under the waist of his pants. Ryu walked to the door and opened it. However he didn't leave right away. He paused in the doorway.

"Don't let him die doctor. If you can keep him alive I will be forever grateful"

"Hai, Ryu-sama."

"Then I'll be off." With that Ryu ran from the door and through the village. Night had fallen and Ryu felt sleep and hunger creeping in on him. Ryu was just a short ways outside of the village when he stopped and realized he had no idea of where to go. He looked out and tried to find someplace that might be a place where she would be. However he saw nothing. Ryu hung his head and began to wonder if he would find Sei in time. Then without warning Ryu snapped his head back up. He starred off into the distance.

"This feeling, it's Sei. She's not far." Ryu looked up and saw a large mountain not far from where he stood. "Over that mountain. She's over that mountain. Wait for me Subaru; I'll find Sei.

Well what did you think, a bit better I hope. I can't wait to get eh next chapter done. Any questions about the story or anything please let me know and please review.


	5. Subaru's Fate

Authors Note: YEAH!! I got my first review. This is my first story and my first review on it so that makes it my first review ever. So YEAH!! Unfortunately school is starting up so I won't get a lot of time to write. I know this chapter took a while to get up and the others will probably take just as long. Sorry about that. Anyway without further delay.

Chapter 5: Subaru's Fate

Ryu moved quickly across the plains and began making his way up the mountain. Ryu began to grow very tired as he traveled. He had fought many shades and Hachigeki in the Akai Forest, and in the process been forced to use a large amount of his noryoku. Ryu was exhausted. Despite his strong desire keep moving and find Sei, Ryu's body was out of energy. He had only made it half way up the mountain when he finally realized that trying to make it over the mountain that night was pointless. Off to the side, Ryu noticed a small dirt overhang supported by the roots of an old tree.

"I will have to sleep there tonight. Trying to press on will only make matters worse. I have to stop here." Ryu slowly walked over to the overhang and crawled under it. The space was tight Ryu was had to struggle a bit to squeeze into it. It must have been terribly uncomfortable, but he fell asleep instantly. He slept deeply through the night and did not awake until late in the morning the next day. When he did and realized how late it was Ryu began to panic. He tried to find Sei, but could no longer feel her presence.

"Damn it!" He yelled in frustration. "Now I lost Sei. I don't know where she is anymore. But I can't give up. Subaru needs Sei. All I can do now is go to where Sei was. Maybe from there I can figure out where she went." Ryu rolled out of the shelter where he had spent the night and got to his feet. He wasted no time in moving on towards the top of the mountain. Ryu was well rested, yet his noryoku had not fully returned yet. It would take several days before he could recover the noryoku he had used in the Akai Forest.

At Ryu's new pace it took him little time to reach the top of the mountain. The other side of the mountain dipped into a valley before rising back up and leading into a vast plain. Ryu starred at the terrain trying to place where he had felt Sei's presence. However the best he could do was a general area. There was a lake down in the valley. Sei had been somewhere around that lake. Where she was now was something Ryu still could not tell.

"No sense wasting time here," muttered Ryu to himself. And with that he began making his descent toward the lake in the valley. He ran down the mountain and leapt toward the lake landing just in front of it. However Ryu immediately knew that something was wrong. Everywhere around this place was a horrible energy. Ryu looked around and then noticed a blood stain on the grass by the other side of the lake. He went over to it and bent down so he could begin to feel the energy from it. Since the energy that Ryu could feel was the life essence of that person. This energy should be in the blood as well. If it was shed recently then the force should still be inside of it. Ryu was right. He could tell without doubt that it was Sei's blood. It was at that moment that Ryu became very worried. The Mahouski could not die from any kind of natural means. However they could be killed. Ryu still couldn't feel Sei's presence, and now Ryu had to realize that Sei might have been killed. However Ryu would not stop looking for her. Even though he knew that it was a possibility, he felt it an unlikely one. Deep down Ryu felt that Sei was still alive.

Ryu looked around trying to find where Sei could have gone. He looked off and into a slight wooded area that Ryu knew ran through most of the valley. Much of the terrain in that direction had been disturbed and so that was the direction he went. He walked through the trees following a disappearing trail of blade marks on trees, blood, and disturbed bushes. When the markings did completely disappear Ryu still had no idea of where to go. Now he was deep in the woods with no sign of where Sei had gone.

Ryu closed his eyes and began searching very hard for any sign of Sei. This time he managed to find something. It was very weak and Ryu had a great deal of difficulty trying to get a direction. When he finally did find the direction the energy was coming from Ryu ran towards it at full speed. He raced around the trees jumping over bushed and constantly focusing on that energy. He was not about to lose Sei a second time. Ryu felt the energy get closer and closer and he knew that he was getting close to where Sei was. However Ryu suddenly felt a second presence at the same spot as Sei. This one was an evil energy. Not Onime, but most likely one of his generals. Ryu took to the trees and moved closer to where he felt the energy. He suppressed his noryoku so that neither Sei nor Onime's general could sense him and moved forward. He reached a clearing and down in it was Sei and one of Onime's generals, just as Ryu had thought. Sei had her sword, a thin straight sword, drawn and was facing the general. Sei was the only female among the Mahouski. She had long blue hair, which she adorned with a blue ribbon. He had a blue shirt that stopped above her midriff and a white skirt that came significantly further down in the back than it did in the front, and had a blue stripe down the center in the front and the back. The general was a smaller man than Hachigeki. He wore a black bodysuit and had metal claws attached to his hands. He had a black belt around his waist that held many kunai in it. And just like the others he had the glowing red eyes.

"Now Sei, we will have a fair duel without you running away like before." Said the general.

"Fine by me, Akamaru." Replied Sei as she tightened her grip around the sword. She lunged forward and stabbed at Akamaru, who blocked the sword with his claws. He then pushed it aside and went to stab Sei. She jumped back and pulled her sword in to knock Akamaru's claws aside. She flipped back and held her hand toward Akamaru.

"Aoi Katsunaki!" she yelled and unleashed a blast of water at him. Akamaru jumped up dodging the attack and pulled out several of his kunai and threw them at Sei. She ducked and rolled forward dodging the darts before turning to face Akamaru again. Fighting straight on was not Sei's strong suit. She was incredible wit her noryoku, but with she was the weakest of the Mahouski with her sword. This fight was strongly to her disadvantage. Ryu was still hiding in the trees ready to leap in and stop the fight if he needed to. Sei rose back to her feet held her sword loosely at her side. Akamaru ran toward her and stabbed with his claws. Sei quickly dived to the side and slammed her hand into the ground.

"Koorima!" she yelled and ice blades burst from the ground all around Akamaru. They crashed down on where he was, but he had barely managed to get out of their reach. However Sei wasn't done yet. She held her hand forward and attacked again.

"Koori no Yaiba!" she yelled unleashing a surge of ice blades straight at Akamaru, who quickly flipped back and sprung off of a tree and dove straight at Sei. Ryu leapt from his spot and drew his sword knocking Akamaru's claws aside. Ryu landed and turned to face Akamaru, who was quickly getting back to his feet.

"Who's the fool who decided to interfere in my fight?" He said as he stared at Ryu

"Kazeski Ryu."

"What, two Mahouski!" he exclaimed. "You may have gotten away this time, but I won't be alone next time." With that he ran, and Ryu had no intention of giving chase.

"Daijovu, Sei?" Asked Ryu as he turned his gaze toward her.

"Nothing I can't heal, but what about you, that blood on your shirt. What happened?" she asked in a concerned tone.

"Don't worry about it, it's not my blood. I'll explain it all in a minute. First you need to take care of your wounds.

"Their nothing. I'm fine." Sei began to walk forward, but she flinched greatly and fell to her knees. Ryu caught her in his arms and then noticed the wound in her side. "Maybe it's a bit worse than I thought." Sei reached her hand toward the wound and a blue light began to radiate from it. The wound slowly melded away and left Sei perfectly healed. She jumped up to her feet and looked back toward Ryu.

"But still nothing I can't heal. However if you hadn't been there to stop

Akamaru, it might have been a very different story. I owe you my life." Sei reached her hand forward and the same blue light appeared on Ryu's chest where the blood was stained in his shirt. The blood faded leaving his shirt as white as it ever was.

"Think nothing of it Sei. I would never let you die."

"That is good to hear Ryu." Sei turned to face Ryu and changed her expression to a serious one. "Where are Hikaru and Kenji?"

"I don't know. But it's not important now. We need to get back over that mountain." Ryu turned and pointed up toward the mountain he had scaled in his quest to find Sei. "Subaru was hit by one of Onime's generals. His wound is tainted and he won't last long unless you can remove the taint." Sei was shocked. She starred at Ryu and didn't move at all. "Come on Sei. If we can make it back in time we can still save him."

"Ryu, I don't think I have enough noryoku to remove the taint. They run very deep and are very hard to remove. I will come with you, and I will try my best to remove it, but I can make no promises." Ryu starred at her blankly. It had never occurred to him that Sei might not yet have the ability to remove the taint left by Hachigeki.

"Even if that is the case, you are the only hope he has. Let's go, we don't have time to waste."

"Hai." Sei and Ryu began moving back toward the mountain. Sei was growing tired quickly. Apparently what Ryu saw of the fight was only a small portion of it. Sei had used up a great deal of her noryoku. When she began to struggle with the climb Ryu knew she had to rest. They were only at the base of the mountain, but Ryu couldn't help it.

"We'll stop here for the night. Rest up Sei, tomorrow we need to make it back to the village. The doctor is good, but by now I'm certain the taint is beginning to harm Subaru directly."

"Arigatou, Ryu." Sei leaned up against a rock, and within about twenty minutes she was asleep. Ryu glanced over toward her.

"She is beautiful." Ryu said softly to himself. He tried to stay awake so he could watch over Sei. However it wasn't long before he fell asleep.

Sei was the first to awake the next morning. She slowly sat up and looked over at Ryu. He was curled up on the ground with his eyes closed. As if in response to Sei's glance Ryu stirred and woke up. He looked over at Sei and their eyes connected for a brief moment before they both turned and looked at something else. Ryu got up and extended his hand toward Sei.

"Let's go. Subaru needs you." He said as he helped her to her feet. With that the two started their journey up the mountain. Ryu was fortunate to have avoided running into demons during the journey, and the two of them had reached the top of the mountain by mid-day. They paused slightly as they looked toward the village. It was but a speck in the vast landscape that was spread out before them. Sei walked up beside Ryu starred off into the distance with him.

"Makes it all seem worth it, doesn't it. All of this pain and suffering. Just looking out onto the world, the world that we protect, it makes everything seem worth it." She turned and looked at Ryu.

"It does." He replied and turned to face Sei. Their eyes met again and they both paused for a moment. Ryu suddenly turned his glance away. "We need to get going. I don't know how long Subaru can survive with that taint." Ryu began walking down the mountain toward the village. Sei starred at him for a while not moving.

"Shy as always." She said quietly before smiling and running to catch up. Ryu avoided looking at Sei's face the rest of the way down the mountain. When he turned to make sure Sei was still behind him he always looked down and made sure that her long white skirt was still behind him. It was beginning to get dark when they reached the bottom of the mountain. Ryu looked toward the village as he waited for Sei to catch up with him. However Ryu noticed something that sent a chill down his spine. Where the village was Ryu noticed a slight glow. It was faint, but Ryu definitely saw it.

"Sei, hurry over here." He called to her. She jumped down ad ran over toward him.

"What's wrong Ryu?"

"Look at the village. Do you see anything unusual?" Sei squinted and starred at the spot and then her eyes widened as well.

"That glow, it can't be?"

"I think it is. I can run a lot faster than you can, hop on my back." Ryu bent down on his knee and let Sei climb up. He grabbed hold of her legs and took off running. 'I never should have left him alone.' Ryu thought. 'Something like this was bound to happen. What was I thinking? That village was so close to the Akai Forest. It was sure to be one of the first places the demons would attack.'

He ran as fast as he could. Time was very critical know. Being so close to the Akai Forest, the shades were without doubt involved in the attack. They hate bright light, so chances are the demons just started the attack. If Ryu hurried he just might be able to make it in time to save the village.

However when Ryu arrived at the village it was too late. Almost every building was burning. The shades and ghouls where running through the streets in great numbers. Many dead villagers lay in the streets where they had been struck by the blades the demons wielded. Ryu stopped and Sei jumped off of his back.

"Sei, try and put out the fires. Leave the demons to me."

"Alright. Just don't get yourself killed."

"Same to you." Ryu drew his sword and ran toward the demons. Sei began summoning water onto the buildings and drowning the flames that engulfed them. Ryu had one main objective. He ran straight toward the doctor's house. Any demon that got in his way fell victim to his sword.

"I have to get there quickly. Subaru can't fight in this condition. I have to-." Ryu suddenly stopped talking as he heard a whistling in the air coming toward him. He heard it move around his side and then come back in from behind him. "Hachigeki!" He yelled and turned toward the boomerang. It was whirling toward him at great speed. Ryu held out his hand and the wind in front of him began to move. "Kaze Kekkai!" He yelled and the air began to whip violently around in front of him forming. The boomerang crashed into it and was thrown back onto the ground. "Get out here and fight me!" Hachigeki walked out from behind a building just to the right of Ryu. Ryu turned and faced him. However Hachigeki wasn't alone. Being held in his hand was Subaru.

"You seem to have forgotten a very important part of the taint I left in him. It is a piece of me. I can track him down wherever he goes." Hachigeki threw Subaru onto the ground. He was still alive. Hachigeki had not hit him yet. However the taint was severely affecting him. Subaru breathed very heavily and his face showed that he was in a great deal of pain. Ryu was enraged. He gripped his sword as tightly as he could. His fist was shaking with rage.

"Hachigeki! Prepare to die!" Ryu lunged at him, but stopped himself abruptly when Hachigeki held his sword toward Subaru.

"Careful now. Once I kill him, even Sei cannot bring him back. After you went through all that trouble to bring Sei here, it would be a shame if he died." Ryu's eyes widened in surprise. "Did you really think I wouldn't know what you where doing. Sei is the only one who can remove that taint. And you never would have left him behind unless you had plans of coming back. Why would you leave him and then come back, unless you were going to bring back the only one who can save him. It was really very obvious what you were doing." Hachigeki starred at Ryu, who dared not move and provoke Hachigeki to kill Subaru.

"What do you want from me?" Ryu asked in as calm a voice as he could manage.

"What I want is quite simple. I want you to die." Ryu tensed his muscles, readying his strike. Hachigeki would kill Subaru no matter what Ryu did. Somehow, he had to get him away from Subaru. "But you aren't stupid enough to believe that if you die, I'll simply walk away from here. So I'm not going to waste any more time." Hachigeki raised the sword and held it pointed down. Ryu had no time to execute any of his special attacks. He had to try and get there in time to stop Hachigeki from delivering the blow. Hachigeki grasped the sword in bath hands. Ryu was getting closer and closer, but not close enough. Hachigeki plunged the sword down and into Subaru's chest. Subaru screamed out in pain, but soon fell silent. Ryu stopped and starred at the scene. His eyes showed his disbelief.

"No, no, it can't be. No, this is a dream. NO!" Ryu screamed out and then starred straight at Hachigeki. "YOU! DIE!" Ryu held his hand out and placed it on his sword. A green light erupted on it. "Juk Drive!" He yelled as he thrust the sword forward and immense burst of wind struck Hachigeki and threw him off his feet and into the air. Ryu ran and got on the other side of Hachigeki. He held his sword up and swung it in an arc toward the ground, curving up just before it struck the ground. "Kuuhazan!" He yelled as a cyclone flew toward Hachigeki. It hit him in the back and threw him further into the air. Ryu jumped up and held his sword at his shoulder. "Todomeda!" He screamed as he reached Hachigeki and plunged the blade through his armor. Hachigeki's back arched and blood spilled from his mouth. Ryu pulled his sword to the side and faced it toward the ground. He landed on Hachigeki's back and forced him down into the ground.

Hachigeki didn't move. He was dead. The demons around the village that saw Hachigeki's defeat fled into the Akai Forest. The ones that did not ran with the ones that did. Sei put out the rest of the fires without having the demons to deal with. She ran toward Ryu, but froze in her tracks when she saw him. He held Subaru in his arms. Hachigeki was behind him with the sword still embedded in his back. Sei walked forward and stopped next to Ryu. She searched for the right words to say, but none came. What could she say? Ryu had gone through so much trouble to bring her to Subaru, and now he had lost him. Sei walked over to him and put a consoling hand on his shoulder. Ryu slowly laid Subaru on the ground. He reached his hand up to his shoulder and held onto Sei's hand.

"It wasn't your fault Ryu." Sei said in a quiet tone. "You did everything you could for him. He knows that. Subaru doesn't hold anything against you."

"I know." Ryu replied in a calm voice. "But that doesn't make it hurt any less." Ryu starred down at Subaru's body. A faint white light began to glow from it. The light grew brighter and brighter until all that was left of Subaru's body was a mass of brightly glowing light. The form became fluid and began to rise away. Ryu watched it as the light slowly rose into the sky. Ryu spoke slowly as he fought back the tears. "From the heavens you came, and to them you shall return." Ryu couldn't hold them back any longer and the tears flowed from his eyes. "You were more than my guardian, you were my friend. Good-bye, Subaru." Sei knelt down and held Ryu close to her. Ryu returned the embrace and let his emotions flow from him.

The villagers slowly began to come out of the houses around them. They had hidden in there when the demons came. Although many had died, many had also survived. They looked on as the two Mahouski revealed their pain. It was a concept very few understood. With great power comes great pain. And the Mahouski's power was supreme. Ryu regained control of himself and got back up to his feet. He looked around slowly before he began to walk away.

"Let's go Sei. We've caused more than enough trouble here already." Ryu and Sei began to leave.

"Wait. Don't leave." Came a voice from off to the side. The doctor came running toward them. "Please stay at least tonight in my house."

Sei looked back at him and politely declined the offer saying they couldn't possibly ask any more from them. However the doctor persisted and eventually Ryu and Sei caved. They walked back to the doctor's house and moved into the side room. Ryu sat down on one of the chairs around the table and Sei took the one next to him.

"Thank you very much," Sei said. "After all we've done to you."

"You've done nothing to us. In fact you saved us. We knew that since we lived so close to the Akai Forest that the demons would come for us. However we never expected that a general would be with them. Now thanks to you we can defend ourselves. We owe you a debt that we cannot repay." Ryu looked at him and slowly began to speak.

"Subaru would be glad to hear that." Ryu rose from his seat and began to walk back to the main room. Sei got up to follow him.

"Sei, I'd like to be alone tonight. If you don't mind." Ryu walked out the door and closed it behind him. Sei walked back and sat down at the table.

"Subaru died didn't he?" asked the doctor

Sei's reply was a solemn one. "Yes. He was killed by Hachigeki."

"I was afraid of that. I wasn't at home when the demons came. I had gone out to get some food. The demons came and I never had a chance to get back and help Subaru. Maybe if I had been there."

Sei cut him off abruptly. "Nothing would have changed. He was a demon general. He would have killed you and then killed Subaru. Nothing could have saved him." Sei paused as she looked up at the ceiling. "My only consolation is that I never knew him. If I had I would be as devastated as Ryu is."

"What was Subaru? If not a Mahouski, what was he?" The question had clearly been bothering the doctor for some time, and had never found the right time to ask it.

"Subaru is not a Mahouski. He is something different. After the first war with Onime, we slept within normal humans. Our powers were not needed and we no longer belonged in the world. Still, we remained on the earth for just this occasion. However in this state we knew nothing of ourselves. It was for that reason that the Sumeregi bloodline was blessed with the powers they have. Their speed, strength, and agility are all beyond the abilities of normal humans. They were also given minor elemental powers. By focusing their energy through a medium they can summon and manipulate various elements to a certain degree. Their job was to seek out and awaken the Mahouski in a time of need. Subaru is one of their descendants."

"But how did you awaken if you never met Subaru?"

"Subaru is but one of their descendants. There are others. It was Kyouske who found me. He since left in search of the others."

"You will disappear again after this war, won't you?"

"Yes. Once this war ends our power should end with it. It has no place in a peaceful society."

"It hardly seems fair. You live only in times of darkness. You fight to restore the land and then don't remain to reap the fruits of your struggle. It doesn't seem right."

"That is not true. We are given the rest of this life we have. We disappear by choice. Because we know it would be better for us to remain unnoticed. However that is merely our choice."

"Why? You saved the world and its people. Why would you not accept the praise that is due to you?" Sei paused slightly at this question. Trying to determine how best to answer it. Finally she spoke.

"Simply watching the world return to peace again is reward enough." Sei rose from her seat and began walking away from the table. "Now if you don't mind I need some rest." She sat back down in the corner of the room resting her back against the wall.

The doctor vehemently protested to this arrangement. "Please take my bed. I'll sleep out here for the night."

"I am but a guest in your house, to remove you from your own bed would be rude."

"You are not removing me if I offer it freely. And it is also rude to turn down the hospitality of your host. Please, use my bed." Sei rose from her spot in the corner and thanked the man sincerely before proceeding through the door that led into his private room. She closed the door behind her and the doctor was left alone. He looked toward the door Sei had disappeared behind and spoke to her, knowing that she did not hear him. "It is the least I can do to repay you for what you have done."

What did ya think, I thought it was a pretty good surprise. Sorry if you didn't want it to happen, but he just had to go. It was one of those things were that I just couldn't help. Anyway I guess you've figured where the romance comes in, that isn't supposed to be hidden. Anyway the next chapter shouldn't be too long away so til then.


	6. Back on the Trail

Chapter 6: Back on the Trail

Sei fell asleep quickly, having not quite realized how tired she was until her head hit the soft pillow. The morning came and Sei was awakened by the early morning hubbub of the people living in the village, or what was left of it. She climbed out of bed and stretched her arms high above her head. She walked out of the doctor's bedroom and into the small living room. He had already left and Sei assumed that he was out taking care of the wounded. Sei left this room as well and entered the main room. She looked all around this room for Ryu, however it appeared that he too had left. Sei quitted the house and paused a moment to allow her eyes to adjust to the bright morning sun.

The villagers had already busied themselves with the task of rebuilding their town and to Sei's surprise Ryu could be seen helping them. He was working among the rubble of one of the buildings that had collapsed under the stress of the fire. His hands deafly shifted through the debris pulling out anything that was still useable and tossing aside all that was not. However this was not as surprising as what she saw next. As he glanced up and noticed Sei looking at him, a smile spread across his face. Sei was completely shocked by this. Just yesterday he had lost Subaru, and today he acted as if it had never happened. Ryu walked away from the debris as he approached Sei.

"Ohaeyo," he called to her in a cheerful voice. "Did you sleep well?"

Sei responded in a tone that showed her concern to be genuine. "Ryu, are you okay? You were so depressed yesterday."

"Yes, I was," Ryu responded in an equally serious tone, "But I spent last night thinking. I thought about Subaru and what I was going to do without him. And I realized that as long as I remember Subaru, he will always be with me. He sacrificed himself so that I could live. It was that sacrifice that led to him receiving that taint. He died because he protected me, and the best way to honor that sacrifice, is to live. So I decided to not look back. Rather, to keep Subaru in my heart, and look forward." Sei was unable to speak. What was there for her to say? All she could do was to look into Ryu's eyes and smile. One of the villagers approached the two Mahouski.

"Ano, Ryu-sama, Sei-sama." He said very tentatively. "We can take care of our own village, so if you are free to leave if you wish." Ryu glanced back at the village. Sei could see the conflict in his eyes. He wanted to stay and help these people rebuild their town, but at the same time he knew that he couldn't. Time was critical, and they had none of it to spare. Ryu turned his gaze toward the villager and apologized that he could stay no longer. With that the two left and continued their journey.

However they did not continue alone. As they left the village, Akamaru watched them closely. A smile crept across his face. A faint glow appeared around his body. It faded into the air and moved toward the Mahouski. He chuckled slightly as the glow grew brighter and more and more of the energy flooded toward the two unsuspecting victims. "You two will be mine." Akamaru said in a soft tone.

Ryu and Sei walked side by side through the grassy plain around them. The energy that Akamaru had emitted into the air was beginning to fill their system. With every breath they took it poisoned them. Yet they did not notice it since their senses were not very strong yet. Akamaru pursued them, but was careful to stay far enough away as to avoid being detected by the two travelers. His aura built up in their bodies and soon Akamaru was satisfied with the amount they had inside them. At this point he slowly moved in behind them and waited for a moment to strike. Sei tripped over her own feet, and that was the moment he had been waiting for. Ryu moved to catch her and at that moment Akamaru leapt forward. Ryu noticed him just in time to grab Sei and jump out of the way. He landed a short distance away and set Sei back on her feet before drawing his sword from its sheath.

"You sure you want to try this again, Akamaru." Ryu taunted. The corner of Akamaru's lip curled up in an evil grin. He did not respond to Ryu. He quickly reached down to his belt and pulled out several of his kunai. He threw them toward Ryu at great speed. Ryu jumped into the air and dodged the flying projectiles only to notice that three more were flying at him. He didn't trust his sword skill enough to block them so he extended his hand forward and willed the air in front of him to move.

"Kaze Kekkai!" He yelled. However nothing happened. The air remained unchanged and the darts sailed through it with ease. Ryu swung his katana and knocked two of them away, however the third struck him in the arm. Blood flowed form the wound onto his white clothes. Ryu landed on the ground and reached his hand over toward the dart. With one pull he removed from his arm and clutched his hand around the wound. Ryu stared at Akamaru. Why hadn't his ability worked? Why couldn't he use his noryoku? He had rested for a while and the Kaze Kekkai was a low level ability. He should have had no problem using it. So why had it failed?

"You seem to be very weak without your powers." Sneered Akamaru. I should have to problem killing you now. Ryu was shocked. What could Akamaru do that could stop him from using his noryoku? "You seem puzzled. Well than let me explain it to you. I have been trailing you for some time now. And all the while I have been releasing my aura into the air. You of course breathe that air. So my aura is within you. And because of that you can no longer use your abilities. My aura blocks the energy you use to manipulate the wind. Without it you are nothing special." Sei drew her sword and prepared to fight. "I wouldn't do that missy. You breathed the same air he did. Your noryoku has been sealed also." Sei backed down. She was far weaker than Ryu was in terms of actual fighting ability. Her strength was in her noryoku, and now she was without it.

"Sei," Ryu called in a commanding tone, "you see the forest to your right." Sei turned and noticed a small forest in the distance.

"Yeah." She replied in a quiet tone.

"I want you to run there. I'll keep him busy for a while, and then I'll join you there. Hide in there and wait for me." Sei started to protest, but Ryu cut her off telling her to get going. Sei turned and ran. Akamaru lunged at her, but Ryu hit his claws hard, knocking him back. He stood with his sword drawn and at the ready. While, behind him, Sei faded into the distance.

"A very bold thing to do. Facing me alone will not be easy for you, especially without your abilities." Akamaru jumped up into the air and threw more darts down at Ryu. Ryu dodged to the side and watched Akamaru closely, looking for any movement that might give away his next attack. Akamaru came down on Ryu forcing all of his weight onto the blade Ryu held up to defend himself from the claws. He pushed off with his claws and landed a short distance back and lunged forward for another attack. Ryu quickly jumped over him and swung his sword in a broad swing that was easily avoided. The two warriors lunged toward each other and the clash of metal sounded another stalemate. The match continued in a similar fashion. Both of the fighters executed advanced moves and almost impossible acrobatics, but nothing managed to connect.

The fight was allowed to continue for only a few more minutes before Ryu assumed that Sei had managed to make it the forest. At that point he turned and ran toward the forest he had sent Sei to. Akamaru ran after him, throwing kunai at him. Ryu ran as fast as he could and randomly jumped to one side or the other to try and avoid the darts. Akamaru was fast, but not as fast as Ryu. It wasn't long before Ryu had made good his escape, and taken shelter in the trees of the forest.

With their noryoku sealed the only quick way of finding the two Mahouski was lost. Akamaru would not allow the two to get away from him so when he arrived at the forest he was forced to search for them the old fashioned way. Ryu had already hidden himself nicely within a well-covered tree. He didn't know where Sei was, but at this point it wasn't his primary concern. He was still weak, too weak to be taking on one of the four generals without his noryoku.

Ryu heard footsteps coming closer to him. He tensed his muscles, ready to spring if necessary, but remained motionless hoping it would not be. He could not see Akamaru through the leaves that covered his line of sight, but because of them Akamaru couldn't see him either. The footsteps were slow, but they came and went without pause. Ryu relaxed in his tree, leaning his back against the trunk. He waited a shot while to make sure there was considerable distance between him and Akamaru. Then he moved. He stuck to the trees not wanting to place himself too far in the open. All the while looking for any sign of Sei. Now that he knew Akamaru wasn't right behind him finding Sei became his top priority.

As he jumped from branch to branch something caught his eye. He stopped and turned to examine it. It was a small piece of white cloth caught on a thorn. Ryu knew it was a good chance that it was a piece of Sei's clothing. It may have been a long shot, but it was the best shot he had. He moves quickly in the direction he believed Sei had traveled.

He moved coolly showing no hint of emotion. However inside he felt the exact opposite. In this moment, when Sei was in danger and he could do nothing, he realized how much he cared for her. With her noryoku sealed she was in serious trouble. Her sword skills were nothing compared to those of Akamaru. Sei relied almost entirely on her noryoku to fight. She had unmatched control, and her skills were incredibly powerful, but she paid for this power with her physical strength. Ryu jumped from a tree branch and landed softly on another only to repeat the motion again.

Ryu noticed a small figure crouched in the bushes. He stopped perched on his branch watching the figure closely. Searching for something to reveal their identity. The body moved slightly as it shifted its weight. Then it slowly backed out from the bushes and at that point Ryu got and clear view. The familiar white skirt hung low on one side, and the blue shirt that stopped above the midriff. It was Sei.

"Sei." He called quietly wishing only for her to hear him. Sei began to turn and look all around. She reached her hand across and grabbed the hilt of her sword. "Sei, up here." She looked above her and their eyes met. Ryu dropped down from the branch and landed softly in front of her. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"I've been better, but I'll be fine. But that's not important now. What are we going to do about Akamaru?" Ryu paused for a moment clearly trying to think of something on the spot.

"I don't know." He finally replied, giving up on hiding his uncertainty. "The only thing that's for sure is that we need to get his aura out of us. Can you do anything about that?"

"Not without my noryoku back. And even with it I'm not sure I have the strength to do it. His presence runs through our entire body. That isn't easy to remove."

"Is there any way to get it out of us?"

"Maybe," replies Sei as she thought out the fine points of her idea, "if this is his aura within us than he is going to have a lot less stamina. If we can wound him bad enough it should force him to pull the aura out himself. The only thing is I'm assuming his aura works similarly to out own and that he is actually capable of removing it from us. But it's the best I've got."

"In that case we run with it. I can't think of anything better." With their course of action determined the two Mahouski began to work on a way to execute on it. Fighting Akamaru head on was not a good idea given their current state, so they had to work out a kind of ambush. Ryu and Sei continued to work on various ideas when suddenly Ryu sensed something. He grabbed Sei and pulled her to the ground just as several kunai flew over them.

Akamaru dropped down from above them and the two Mahouski were on either side of him. Akamaru ran after Sei, thinking her to be the easier of the two enemies. He slashed at her with his claws, but she managed to dodge and retreat into the trees. Sei assumed Ryu would follow her, but he didn't. Instead he attacked Akamaru. The two became locked in a massive duel, and for the second time, Ryu allowed Sei to make good her escape.

"Quite the chivalrous one aren't we?" Asked Akamaru as the two warriors fought in a power struggle. Ryu dropped to the ground and pulled his blade away from Akamaru's claws. Since all of his weight was pushing against Ryu he fell forward and Ryu stabbed his sword upward at his exposed belly. Akamaru leaped up and above Ryu's reach. His body sailed over Ryu and landed facing his back.

Ryu quickly spun around and got back on his feet. His blade was held off to the side as his eyes starred into the glowing red eyes of Akamaru. The two warriors sprung forward flying toward each other. The clash of metal sounded through the forest as their weapons collided. The two found themselves again locked in a power struggle. Both of them pushed back and slid a short distance along the ground before readying themselves for another assault.

Sei moved quickly through the trees racing to get away from the enemy she assumed was still pursuing her. She knew that Ryu was faster than her and found it odd that he had not caught up with her yet. She was worried that something had happened to him. When she stopped on a branch and turned to look behind her she saw nothing. Neither Ryu nor Akamaru had been behind her. It didn't occur to her that Ryu would have stayed and fought until she heard the loud clash of their blades. She immediately raced back to rejoin her fellow Mahouski. As she got closer the sounds of metal on metal got louder and louder. Avoiding detection by the two was easy, especially without her noryoku giving her away. She moved quietly behind a small bush that offered her a good view of the fight. Ryu and Akamaru were still locked in their acrobatic combat, a style of fighting that both of them favored. Sei gripped her sword tightly, as she readied herself to join the fight at the right moment. She watched the two fighters closely and at one brief point in the fight when she thought it best she made a quick movement. One that Ryu was in a position to see, and Akamaru was not. It was a moment that lasted barely one full second. Sei could only hope that it had been enough.

Ryu clashed blades with Akamaru and pushed off hard sending himself flying toward a tree. He planted his feet on it and pushed off flying above Akamaru. He held his sword over his head and prepared to strike. Akamaru threw several kunai up at the falling Ryu, who had to immediately abandon his attack. He used his sword to block several of them, but without his wind ability he couldn't change his course. One of the darts got through and struck Ryu in the shoulder. He hit the ground on his feet but was unable to support himself and fell to his knees. He ripped the dart out of his body and threw it back at Akamaru who sidestepped out of its path.

Ryu lunged forward in a very broad movement. He made a long swing from the left and Akamaru easily jumped to the right to avoid the attack. Ryu gave a slight smirk.

"Imana, Sei!" Ryu called and Sei responded. A thin blade appeared out of Akamaru's chest. He staggered forward and fell to the ground. Sei rose stepped out of the bushes and starred down at the bleeding general. His red eyes had lost much of their glow and it was clear he was dying.

"Kusou." Groaned the figure on the ground. Akamaru stood up, using all of his strength to stay that way. He suddenly began to glow and shortly after he began glowing, the Mahouski did as well. The glow flowed from Ryu and Sei and returned to Akamaru. His wound slowly healed itself and the demon general was restored to his original strength. However so were the two Mahouski.

Ryu held his hand forward and called the wind together. "Hiryu Kourindan!" he yelled as he unleashed a concentrated blast of wind. It flew toward Akamaru, who jumped into the trees to avoid it. The blast continued forward blasting holes in several trees as it ripped through them. Akamaru was smart enough to realize that he had lost and retreated from the forest. A loud bang and a flash of dark energy indicated that the demon general had fled.

"Are you alright Sei?" Ryu asked turning to face her.

"I'm fine, but your not. Look at that wound." She said nodding her head toward the spot where the dart had hit. Sei extended her hand toward the spot and a blue light appeared over it. Slowly the wound healed and the blood staining the clothes was removed.

Ryu went to take a step forward but his knee gave out and he fell forward. Sei rushed forward to catch him. Ryu tried to get up again, but found his body unwilling to comply.

"You need to stop overdoing things." Sei said in a forceful tone. "You were fighting that whole time without having any noryoku. Ryu you know how vital noryoku is to us. None of it could circulate and that caused your body to weaken. Fighting in that state is bound to tire you out." Sei stopped her tirade immediately when she heard a slight chuckle from Ryu. "What's funny?" She snapped

"Nothing, nothing at all. It's just nice to know you care." Sei's face went red and she was suddenly at a loss for words. All she did was huff slightly and sit on the ground with her back resting up against a tree. "We'll stay here tonight." Ryu said in an attempt to move the conversation along. "I need the rest and you could use it too." Sei nodded in agreement. The night fell quickly upon the two resting Mahouski. Although it wasn't the smartest thing to do they both fell asleep together. And sometime in their sleep the two drifted towards each other. Although they had fallen asleep a good distance apart. When they awoke they found themselves right next to one another

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Yeah this was a very long time between chapters. I'll try to do better in the future. I just got caught in a massive set of problems from school to family, to laziness, and then there was the ever present I just couldn't figure out what to write. So anyway I'll try and do better next time.

Anyway in the next chapter you get to finally meet the third general. He's my second favorite, and my favorite will be coming up shortly after this.

Anyway hope you enjoyed that chapter and if you read it please review. I really don't care what you have to say, as long as its somewhat intelligent.


	7. Demonic Corruption

Chapter 7: Demonic Corruption

Sei and Ryu continued on their journey the next morning. The two walked side by side through the forest and found themselves back on the plains surrounding them. It was still early in the morning and the sun was bit a sliver above the distant horizon when both of them felt a massive burst of power. However this power was not one they needed to fear. It was far off in the north, and both of them knew exactly what was over there.

"And now another is awakened." Ryu said in a quiet tone.

"That energy is without doubt the kaminari noryoku. That must be where Hikaru is."

"It's still a good distance away. We need to move quickly. That energy was a burst. He is awakened, but he is at his weakest. Even now the energy is gone. If he leaves there we have no way of finding him again."

"My thoughts exactly, let's go." With that the two Mahouski set out at a run. The plane they were on stretched forward for many miles and then dropped off into a ravine. Down within that ravine is where the Kaminari Shrine is located, but what else was there was something neither Mahouski knew.

After a good hour the two noticed a small village against a small hill only a short distance off to the right. They decided to stop there and take a quick brake. They could get something to drink and a quick bite to eat before continuing. However when they entered the village they did not find it very welcoming.

A dark atmosphere seemed to hang in the air. The crop fields were full of brown plants that showed no sign of ever recovering. The people walked slowly and with what appeared to be great difficulty. They would frequently bend over and hold their hand to their mouth while they endured a fit of coughing only to take several more steps and repeat the process. It was a horrid sight.

The two warriors stood still in the center of the village. They were approached from behind by an old man with a cane. He grunted to gain their attention and when they turned to look at him his mouth dropped open.

"You, you are th-" The man's sentence was cut off as a spasm of coughing gripped him. Sei reached out and held him up until it passed. "Forgive me he said and then continued his thought. "You are the Densetsu no Mahouski, Kazeski Ryu and Mizuski Sei?"

"Yes we are" replied Ryu. "Please tell me what happened here." He added making a sweeping hand gesture toward the surrounding town.

"It's the demons." The man said before another spasm fell upon him. The Mahouski looked on with pity in their hearts. When he recovered he continued his tail. "This is no natural event. Cyrad was corrupted by the demons. The very air around us is a plague. The soil is filled with evil and nothing can grow. The corruption spread from a cave in the hill over there" the old man pointed toward the hill that went along the village. We tried to go in there and stop the plague, but anyone who got close would fall into a massive convulsion and cough up their blood before falling to the ground dead."

"Why don't you just leave this place? Run away free yourself from it."

"It is not that simple. Something in the air we breathe has made it so that our bodies cannot live without it. Many have tried to run, but they to fell victim to it the same way those that got to close to it did. The only place we can live in this spot. Surrounded by the plague. The only way we can be freed from it is only a myth, and one that only you two can fulfill." The old man paused waiting for Ryu or Sei to say something

Ryu picked up on the man's hesitation and set him at ease. "Don't worry, we will help you in any way we can."

"Oh thank you, thank you so-" the man again fell to his knees coughing heavily.

"Don't thank us just yet, just tell us how to free you."

"Yes, the rumor is that this plague is being caused by a magic stone, one which you can use to counter the corruption. If you counter flow it with your energy the air will change to one of prosperity and this land and its people will be returned to the way they were. It is nothing more but a myth, but it is all that we cling to." Ryu paused slightly as he considered the situation.

"We'll do it." He said. Ryu gave a quick glance toward Sei and she nodded her approval. "However we have just come from a battle and would not risk entering that cave without being at my full strength. Could you give us a place to rest for the night?"

"We could, but staying here too long will drain your energy won't it. Doesn't it require your energy to neutralize the corruption?"

"Our bodies are different then yours. It will take more than this to be able to poison them. Don't worry, we'll be fine."

"In that case please stay at my place as long as you need." The old man gestured toward a small worn down house right off the main street. He began to lead the way, but suddenly fell to his knees as another spasm ceased him. His cane fell to the side and the man was on his knees trying to regain control of himself. Ryu knelt down in front of him and told him to get on his back. The man protested a bit insisting that he could manage on his own, but Ryu would not have it, and he eventually wrapped his arms around Ryu's neck. Ryu grabbed the man's legs and rose back to his feet. The Kazeski walked toward the man's house and Sei followed behind him. When they arrived Ryu laid the man down in his bed and told him to rest. The man fell asleep quickly and Ryu and Sei were left to themselves

"Are you sure this is wise Ryu?" Asked Sei. "I mean if Hikaru moves we will have a difficult time finding him again. Why don't we just go in there, counter flow the energy, restore the village and be done with it?"

"You know why Sei. Don't tell me the thought hasn't crossed your mind as well. This corruption is severe. It has infected the land and the very air around this village." Sei let out a sigh of acceptance.

"So you think it really is one of the generals, don't you?"

"Yes I do. And this one is very different from Hachigeki. Hachigeki was a powerhouse, but he possessed no style. He couldn't even use a magic crystal; much less cause this much devastation with one. Unfortunately I know very little of the demon generals. They didn't exist last time we fought, what I know of them I learned from Sylphreed. And all that consists of is that there are four of them and that their strengths and weaknesses were made to parallel the four of us. Hachigeki was made in the likeness of Kenji, Akamaru was made in the likeness of Hikaru. The other two I know very little about. Although judging from the fact that this general uses his magical abilities to attack I can guess that he is the one made to parallel you. He will be very strong in the magical arts, but what they consist of and the degree to which he knows them I know nothing."

"And that is why you're being cautious about this?"

"Precisely. Now let's get some rest, that is after all the whole reason why were taking this night." Sei stretched out on the floor and got comfortable for the night. Ryu leaned his back against a wall and lowered himself to the floor, removing his katana from the belt as he went. He held the sword against his chest with his back resting against the wall, and in that position he drifted off to sleep.

Ryu woke up to a burning village, flames surrounded him as he quickly rose to his feet. Sei was gone and Ryu had no idea what was happening. He shoved his sword back under his belt and ran out of the house. He was in a village he had never seen before. Ryu drew his sword and searched for the enemy. He saw a blast of water from behind a house across the street. He ran and leaped over it. Sei was on the ground battling against an enemy he couldn't find. He landed and turned to face her.

"Sei, what happened?" He asked in a panicked tone. Sei said nothing, but nodded her head forward. Standing against the building was the enemy. A large warrior with a variety of weapons strapped to his thick armor. A red skull within a circle was marked on his shoulder. It was Hachigeki.

"How can you be alive, I killed you myself?" Ryu questioned.

"Yes you did, and I've been meaning to thank you for that. However, even death is subordinate to the will of Onime, for him all is possible." Ryu charged forward and unleashed a blast of wind at the general. Hachigeki held up his arm and the blast was easily blocked. Ryu swung his sword, but Hachigeki hit it with the armor covering his arm and knocked it away. He grabbed Ryu by the neck and lifted him into the air. He kneed Ryu in the gut and punched him to the ground before kicking him away. He then removed the big sword from its sheath at his side and charged Sei. She leapt away and landed with her palm to the ground.

"Koorima!" she yelled and the ice spears dived down on Hachigeki. However they simply bounced off his armor. Hachigeki swung his sword hard and Sei nimbly dodged letting the sword crash into the ground. However Hachigeki reached to the side and pulled his boomerang off his armor and swung it at Sei. Still off balance from her first dodge, Sei was unable to dodge the next one. The blade sliced across her stomach and Sei screamed out in pain. She fell back and in that moment Hachigeki stabbed his sword through her. He back arched and her mouth flew open. Blood dripped out of her open mouth and then Hachigeki pulled the sword out and Sei's limp body collapsed on the ground. Ryu tried to scream, but his voice could not be heard. Tears stung his eyes and his vision blurred.

A forceful shake broke the image away and replaced it with one of Sei's concerned eyes staring at him. Ryu was breathing heavily and a cold sweat covered his body. He was breathing heavily as Sei reached out and embraced him. She held him close and tired to calm him. Ryu regained his composure after a few minutes and he told Sei what had happened in his dream. She dismissed it easily as a dream with no basis in reality.

"I would love to believe that, but there is something else. It is a vague memory that I carry from before I awakened. The person who first owned this body had dreamt of the demons coming to his village and killing him. He took action from that dream and maybe that is why he did not die. However the demons did come. I think this dream is very similar to that one. We may be able to change the future, but as it stands now I think Hachigeki will be revived."

Sei could think of nothing to say. She simply sat on the floor and looked at Ryu. She wanted desperately to find words to express her feelings, but none came. All she could do was pull herself to a spot along the wall next to Ryu. Although no words were spoken both understood that the dream would have to wait. They knew that a general was in the cave and they would need their strength to fight him. The two fell asleep and did not awake again until the next morning.

The sun was already well above the horizon before Ryu opened his eyes again. He silently got up from his slouched position on the wall. He slid the katana back under his belt and glanced back over to the bed where the old man still slept. Ryu had meant to let Sei sleep, but apparently his movement must have disturbed her. She slowly opened her eyes and blinked several times to adjust to the light. She too rose to her feet and attached her sword to her belt. The two Mahouski walked side by side out of the house. They spoke not a word to anyone as they walked from the village over to the cave. They could feel the demonic contamination that hung in the air. It was more than enough to kill anything else. As the two stood just outside of the cave entrance they paused and glanced at each other

"You ready to go?" Ryu asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Came the reply.

"All right then, let's go." They walked forward into the cave. With every step they took the poisonous air grew thicker. This was definitely the source of the corruption. Ryu's nerves were on edge. He and Sei still hadn't regained much of their power. And now they were walking into an intentional fight with on of the four generals. It was not a very logical move, but one they would make nonetheless.

The demon aura was not very strong and Ryu and Sei were at the end of the cave. A large set of double doors was before them. Ryu pushed hard on them, but they refused to budge. Ryu drew his sword from its sheath and held his hand along it. The blade began to grow green and Ryu unleashed his Juk Drive. The door blew apart and flew inside. Dust was kicked up everywhere and it was very hard to see.

The dust slowly settled back to the ground and before them was a large room. At the center was a small figure with a pitch-black cape and a staff clasped in his right hand. He stood before a pedestal that supported a small crystal upon it. The man turned to face them and the Mahouski saw his bright red eyes. The same symbol that was worn by Hachigeki and Akamaru was marked upon the staff. This was the demon general causing the corruption.

"Well, it seems the Mahouski have decided to pay me a visit. Such wonderful news."

"Why did you poison the town, what purpose does it serve?" Ryu asked.

"No reason really, just testing out my powers. You have no idea how potent these magic crystals can be. I never had to leave this room and yet I could still cause so much damage. They truly are remarkable."

"You scheme ends here general. We're stopping you now." Ryu proclaimed.

"Oh that just won't do at all, no it won't. I think you will find me much more difficult than the other generals. Against them your noryoku gives you a strong advantage. However against me, it is simply enough to break even." As he finished the sentence he swung his staff forward and an arc of darkness flew from it. Ryu and Sei leapt out of the way and landed on the floor in opposite sides of the room.

"Watch out Sei, that's not sorcery. It's yami noryoku. But how can he posses it?"

"Ah you seem to be surprised by my powers. They are the result of Onime's genius. His ability to manipulate is element is far beyond yours. He infused me with the same darkness he possesses. The result was a demon who had the same yami noryoku he has. Are you still sure you want to fight me, Shikon, one of Onime's four generals?"

"If you trying to scare us it won't work," replied Sei, "we came to stop you and we won't leave until we do."

"Such foolishness, very well. Kakugo." Shikon swung his staff up in the air and a giant ball of darkness formed at the tip of his staff. He threw it at Sei who quickly jumped out of the way before holding her hand forward and unleashing an Aoi Katsunaki at Shikon. He flung his staff upward and a wall of darkness appeared and blocked the attack. Meanwhile Ryu had sheathed his sword and was charging a Kazadama. He flung it at Shikon who suddenly sensed it behind him and leapt into the air. The ball of wind flew underneath and headed toward Sei.

"Sei watch out!" Ryu yelled in warning. Sei noticed it in time and rolled to the side to avoid it. Shikon landed on his feet and turned to face the Mahouski. Ryu quickly drew his sword and swung it up barely grazing the ground. "Kuuhazan!" he yelled as a cyclone erupted from the minor gap between his blade and the ground. Shikon again jumped out of its path and while he was in the air he swing his staff forward unleashing a blast of darkness. Ryu held his hand out and formed his Kaze Kekkai to block the move. Sei waited until just after he landed to slam her palm onto the ground and execute Koorima. The ice blades shot out of the ground and converged on Shikon. Shikon held both his hands to the side and formed a shield around himself. The ice blades shattered against it and the pieces fell to the ground. The shield faded and Shikon looked at Sei.

"A very good skill. However not good enough." Shikon unleashed several blasts of darkness at Sei, all of which hit her. He got near her and hit her hard with his staff. A sharp spike gave Sei a rather deep wound across her arm, and then another sliced across her leg. Shikon swung his staff upward but Sei jumped back and only received a minor scratch from that attack. Shikon pointed his staff toward Sei and a small beam of darkness shot from it. It moved very rapidly and Sei had no chance of dodging. It struck here chest and Sei fell back to the ground. However when her body struck the ground it turned into water and fell apart. The water splashed across the floor and Sei was no longer there. Shikon's eyes went wide when he saw the water break apart, and they got even wider when he heard a Sei's voice behind him.

"Mizu Rendan!" she yelled and unleashed a water blast that knocked Shikon up into the air. However this was by no means the end of her attack. She spun around and unleashed another blast at the vulnerable Shikon. Sei continued sending blasts from her hands for a short while and then she summoned a large blast of water from above Shikon that threw him back to the ground. Ryu had taken the time during Sei's Mizu Rendan to prepare a move of his own. Once Shikon had landed Ryu quickly created two arcs of wind and merged them together into the Kaze Souga. The swirling blast hit Shikon and threw him from the ground and into a wall. Shikon fell to the floor and slowly rose up using his staff to support himself.

"Damn, I underestimated you. You are indeed strong, but you still stand no chance against Onime. I'll concede the town to you, but I assure you this is not the last you'll see of me." Shikon summoned a shield of darkness around him. The shield shrunk down and vanished, taking Shikon with it.

Ryu sheathed his sword, and ran toward Sei. Although the water clone she created had taken the fatal blow, she had received all of the others herself. Sei holds out her hand and points it at the magic crystal. She shoots an ice blade at it and shatters it into several pieces.

"Sei, don't stress yourself. You need to rest."

"Before that, I need to take care of these wounds." Sei held her hand over her chest and a white light began to glow. Darkness was pulled out of her body and destroyed by the light. After Sei finished removing the demon taint from herself she passed out and fell back to the ground. Ryu panicked and lunged toward her. He checked to make sure that she was still alive and when he knew she was he figured she had just passed out from overusing her noryoku.

That was the main risk of relying on their powers. The noryoku the Mahouski possessed was a powerful weapon, but if it was abused their body falls into a comatose state. During that time there is nothing that can wake them back up. Although they usually don't last long, a day or two at the most, if one of Mahouski were to extremely overuse their powers the state could last for several weeks. It was something they always needed to be careful about. Ryu knelt down and picked Sei up of the ground and carried her back to the village. When they returned they could already notice a change in the environment. The powerful corruption that spread everywhere was already lifting. The people were still very sick, but showed signs of improvement.

Although Sei had removed the taint she received from the battle, the wounds were still there. The wound in her arm was bleeding rather badly. Ryu questioned the first person he came to as to where he could find the doctor. The news he received was not what he wanted to hear. The doctor had died a few weeks before from the demonic corruption. The man showed Ryu to one of the larger houses and pushed open the door.

"This is the doctor's house. All of his supplies are still here and I assume their still good, but I know nothing of the medical arts, and neither does anyone else. In fact the doctor moved here because we had no one else t do the job. You can help yourself to anything you need. Please use whatever may help."

"Arigatou." Ryu replied in a distracted tone as he had already laid Sei down on the bed in the corner of the room, he had removed her sword from her side and placed it in a corner of the room, and was searching for some bandages. Ryu knew nothing of these chemicals and herbs that surrounded him. All he knew was that he should put a bandage on the wound and try to stop the bleeding. Ryu found a roll of bandages and quickly wrapped it around Sei's arm and tying it off as best he could. He then proceeded to place a similar bandage on her leg. With that done Ryu had exhausted his knowledge of what to do. Ryu looked at her peaceful form lying there. A slight red color flushed his cheeks and he turned to walk toward the door. He paused before he reached it and turned to stare at her for a moment more.

When he walked out of the house he found a crowd surrounding him. It was then that it occurred to him that he had never given them the good news. Their attention was focused on the Ryu as he stood there starring out upon their hopeful faces.

"You can all relax, the one responsible for causing the corruption has been driven away and the magic crystal he was using has been destroyed. You town will return to normal in time." Once Ryu finished these words he watched as smiles spread across their faces and they all began shouting for joy. Many of them rushed forward to show their gratitude to Ryu. Even though the kids had no idea what exactly had just happened they knew it was good and they knew that the man before them was the one who did it. They ran forward and several of them leapt up onto him. He caught several of them and allowed others to hang from his neck. A few angry parents came up and pulled their kids off of the Mahouski, while lecturing them about what they had been told about hanging on people. Ryu couldn't help but let out a small chuckle.

The doctor who had cared for Subaru had asked Sei why they suffered so much and fought to save the world when he wouldn't stay to enjoy it. Ryu hadn't heard Sei's answer to the question, and didn't have one of his own, but now he did. Watching these people enthusiastically praising him and thanking him. Seeing all of the happiness he had created. That was his reward, it was all he needed.

Ryu remained amongst the villagers and insisted in helping them rebuild their lives. Although they strongly insisted on doing it themselves, and that Ryu had done enough for them already. When they finally agreed to let him help they gave him minimal work, and refused to allow him to help them anymore. Ryu did what little he could, and despite his efforts not to he found himself spending the rest of his time sitting next to Sei's bed and watching her sleep.

Three days passed in this fashion before Sei woke up. Ryu was asleep in a chair next to Sei's bed when she opened her eyes again. She sat up slowly not sure of her surroundings. Her gaze fell upon Ryu who was leaned back so far he was about to fall out of the chair. She smiled and gave a light chuckle. This did not disturb Ryu and he slept on. Sei quietly rose out of the bed and reclaimed her sword from a small corner where Ryu had placed it. She strapped it to her side and walked toward the door. She opened it and then before she left the room she turned back and faced Ryu. His body was still sound asleep resting in the chair.

"Arigatou." She said before walking out of the house. Sei walked calmly around the village looking at all that had changed. The corruption that had once filled everything in the entire region was now almost non-existent. The fields were all neatly tilled showed strong signs of health. The people were back to normal. Children ran through the fields playing, mothers hummed a lively tune as they hung the sheets up to dry, and the fathers were taking a short break from their work to tell a few jokes and laugh together. It was a perfect contrast from what had greeted the Mahouski only four days ago. Sei heard a loud noise from back the way she had come. She turned with a start and starred as Ryu leapt out of the doctor's house and looked around frantically before his eyes fell upon her. He let out a sigh and walked over to her.

"You scared me half to death, I had no idea where you were." He told her.

"I would have told you, but you looked like you needed the sleep." She replied.

"You probably did the right thing. Anyway we don't have anytime to waste.

Hikaru is probably gone by now. We need to hurry toward the shrine and see if we can find any sign of him in that area. Hopefully he's still in that region and we can get to him, otherwise we may have lost track of him."

"How long has it been?" Sei asked, just now realizing that she must have been asleep a good while.

"Three days. You overused your noryoku in the fight with Shikon and passed out after removing the taint from yourself."

"Three days," Sei repeated, "then we need to leave right away."

"My thoughts exactly." Ryu replied. The two began walking from the village and tried to act inconspicuous as they went to leave. However one of the kids noticed them and ran toward them.

"Ryu-san!" He called as he rushed toward them. The boy jumped up and crashed into Ryu's chest where he was promptly caught by the Kazeski. "Where are you going, Ryu-san." Ryu smiled and placed the kid back on the ground.

"It's time for me to go. I have to go and save other villages like yours." The kid looked puzzled and was not satisfied with the answer.

"But I want you to stay here with us." By now his mother had noticed what was going on. She walked quickly over to her son and grabbed his hand.

"Don't be a burden. Ryu-sama has things he needs to do." She then turned to Ryu and thanked him sincerely before telling him to hurry before more people realized what was happening. Ryu turned and walked away from the village

"Bye Ryu-san." Called the boy. After he said that Ryu heard his mother scolding him.

"Ryu-sama, that's Ryu-sama." She said in a stern tone. The two Mahouski looked at each other and smiled.

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So what do you think? This chapter may seem like filler, but it had its purposes. One of them will play a role through the entire first book. Anyway a little preview of the next chapter.

Ryu and Onime fight again, the appearance of the fourth and final general, the appearance of Hikaru, and last but definitely not least Ryu will use his ultimate attack. Anyway the next chapter has a good amount of action so if you like that be happy.

And please review.


	8. Within the Demon Realm

Okay I'm getting better. This one didn't take too long. I think it's a pretty good chapter. Alot of action and new arrivals. anyway I hope you like it.

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Chapter 8: Within the Demon Realm

Ryu and Sei made great haste in their journey to the Kaminari Shrine. They both knew that it was unlikely that Hikaru was still in that area, but it was the only place they had to go. Their main hope was that they would be able to find some kind of hint as to where he had gone. The rest of the journey remained rather uneventful, and the two reached the shrine the same day they left Cyrad.

This shrine had been created, along with the other three, several hundred years back. It was just after the first battle with the demons. However time flowed and people abandoned these shrines. Very few, if any, still knew their location. Even the Mahouski themselves did not know. Ryu and Sei began to walk through the shrine. The Kaminari Shrine had been the only one that people had really been drawn to. For whatever reason only this one was inhabited by monks. They had built several buildings around the shrine itself and they lived her. However they eventually died out and with them the shrine was forgotten.

Now the stone that had once formed houses and other buildings had fallen apart. Trees grew out of the ground ad split the stone walkway, and vines covered the few walls that had remained standing. However one of the buildings, although covered with vines on the outside, was still perfectly intact. That one building was of course the Kaminari Shrine. The Mahouski felt no sign of Hikaru's presence, but decided to venture into the shrine anyway.

They climbed the stone steps that lead into the shrine and entered it. Several torches burned with an unnatural yellow flame and gave just barely enough light to see by. Their footsteps echoed through the corridor, but along with their steps was another person's. These seemed to be coming from further within. Sei's eyes suddenly went wide and she held out her hand to get Ryu to stop. She drew her sword and held it at the ready. Ryu looked at her slightly puzzled and searched ahead of him to see feel who was coming. He realized what Sei had felt and immediately drew his own blade. From out of the shadow in from of them came someone they knew all too well.

Ryu called out to the on-comer. "How dare you defile this sacred shrine with your foul presence, Shikon." A slight chuckle came back and Shikon came out of the shadow and into full view.

"That was awfully rude, Kazeski." He replied in an emotionless tone. "Put your swords away I've not come to fight you. I was hoping to be able to kill Hikaru before his power grew too much, but it seems I was too late. By the time I got here there was no sign of him left. Now, I must be going. Until we meet again." Shikon surrounded himself with darkness as he had done before. The darkness shrunk into nothingness, taking the general with it.

Ryu and Sei both sheathed their swords and continued to walk into the shrine. Although they felt confident that Hikaru was gone, they were not about to trust the word of one of Onime's generals. They reached the large door that lead into the inner shrine. Ryu placed his hand on the door and sent a bit of his energy into it. It slowly swung open and the two Mahouski walked into the inner shrine. Torches light up with the same yellow flame they had seen before. Hikaru was of course nowhere to be found. Across from them on the opposite side of the inner shrine was another door. The one that lead into the sanctum, and the one that only Hikaru could enter. Even another Mahouski could not enter that room. Nothing was left for the two here, and they decided to leave the shrine.

Once back outside they paused for a moment in order to figure out what to do now. Their only lead on the location of another of the Mahouski was gone. Wherever Hikaru was they could not feel him.

"What's are next move?" Asked Sei. We've lost Hikaru, and Kenji either is still asleep or was awakened before we were. Either way we have no idea where he is. We don't even know where the Hono Shrine is."

"Then I guess we have to go hunting for clues. Wherever a Mahouski goes people are bound to talk. We just have to go from town to town searching for anything that sounds like the work of a Mahouski."

"I guess that's all we can do. But it's getting late already. Let's rest here tonight. We can set out again tomorrow." Ryu looked out at the sun, which had almost completely set by now.

"It is getting late, I hadn't even notice it. You're right; we should stay here for tonight. We should get a fire going. It will get cold tonight." Ryu and Sei quickly gathered a few sticks from around the temple. They threw them onto the stone floor and Ryu was forced to start it by sparking two stones on a few dry leaves. The flame took to the leaves and Ryu quickly worked to get some small twigs burning. The smoke began to get into his lungs and he turned his head far from the flame as he coughed. Sei took over getting the wood burning and eventually they had the fire going.

"This will get a lot easier when we find Kenji. Having to get a fire going like this is brutal." Ryu moaned

"We don't even need Kenji, Hikaru could spark the flame easily. We just happen to be the ones who can't do that easily." Sei added in the same tone

"Hey Ryu," Sei started. Ryu turned to face her and waited for her to finish the thought. "What were you like before you awakened? I mean the person whose body you have, what was he like." Ryu was somewhat surprised by the question, but had no problem answering it.

"He was kind, and friendly, a bit lazy at times, but good. His memories have begun to fade now. Far from the vividness they held when I first awakened. But he always liked being with the children. Those memories haven't aged a day. I remember them almost as if they were my own. He always loved playing with them, and they loved being with him. He always cared them like brothers and sisters. But then, they all died when the demons came. He was the only one who survived. He survived because the pain and suffering he felt and the immediate threat of Onime forced my strength to leak through. That loss was the reason he followed Subaru on his own. His name was." Ryu paused for a moment as he tried to recall the name of that man. "It was, uh, Souske. That was it, Souske." Ryu looked back at Sei. "It is truly a shame I had to be reborn in his body. He deserved to have the rest of his life to himself. Why did you ask about him?" Ryu inquired

"Oh no reason really, I was just curious."

"So what about you. What was your person like?"

"The memories I have of the past are very clear. Maybe it was because her feelings were so strong or simply that I chose to recognize them before, but I now about her past very well. Her name was Sakura, and she was somewhat of an outcast. Always shunned by the other kids. But she was strong willed and wouldn't change herself to suit them. She wouldn't let anyone know how much the other kids had hurt her. Always playing the tough one. She never liked to show off, and always shied away from social situations. Not that it was difficult for her, the other kids were more than happy to leave her out. As she grew up things changed little. She matured, but she still proved to be distrustful of others. She often liked to be alone, and spent most of her time off in the woods were she felt no one would ever bother her. So when Kyouske came he found Sakura in the woods one day she was more than happy to go with him. She never went back to the village that day. In fact no one except for us know what happened to her. I might go back to that village one day. I think the name was Yondai. They should at least know that she survived." She looked up at Ryu who had fixed his eyes on hers. "It seems somewhat odd. In the past we were almost exact opposites, but now, in this life, we couldn't be more alike." She added. Ryu suddenly started starring at the fire.

'He sure is shy isn't he. Or maybe he just doesn't want to get into anything. I guess I can't really be sure.' Ryu got up from the ground and looked down at Sei.

"I'm going to go hunt down some dinner, I'll be back before long." Ryu leapt into the air and easily landed back in the trees. Sei smiled before adding another stick to the fire. Ryu returned shortly after and brought back a few small animals with him. They cooked them on the fire and spent the night enjoying each other's company. It was a peaceful night that they enjoyed together; one moment of peace in a chaotic battle.

When morning came to two warriors reluctantly woke from their sleep. Their fire had died early in the night and was now cold. They strapped their weapons back to their sides and continued on their journey. It would be about three days travel to the next town if they kept a normal pace. However they both knew that the quicker they got on the move the better things would be for them. Hikaru didn't know that the two Mahouski were searching for them. Even though they had grown significantly more powerful since the beginning of their travels they still paled in comparison to their true power. With that in mind they knew they couldn't rely on Hikaru or Kenji to be able to feel their presence.

Ryu and Sei left the temple when it was still rather early. Their pace was quick, but not hurried. They hoped to be able to reach the town within two days tops, but that was not to be. As they walked down the dirt road they saw sudden burst of dark energy appear from the sky. The two looked up to see Onime falling slowly to the ground. He landed just in front of the two Mahouski. Both of them placed their hands on their sword ready to draw them at any time. Onime chuckled at this.

"You actually think your skills are enough to beat me. Hah, you make me laugh."

"Why don't we fight and find out if we can." Replied Ryu. With that he drew his sword and charged at Onime. Sei removed her grip from the blade deciding to leave the melee combat to Ryu. She instead fired several blasts of water and Onime, all of which he easily dodged. Ryu swung his sword and Onime easily hopped aside dodging the attack. Onime had yet to even draw his sword, or use any of his noryoku. Despite this Ryu and Sei could not touch him.

"This is really too easy," Onime declared, "I think I'll finish it off now." Onime jumped into the air and held his hand toward the Mahouski. "Mugen!" He yelled as darkness flew from his hand and erupted upon making contact with the ground. The blast threw Ryu and Sei aside and Onime easily fired two more blasts at them. At this point the Mahouski were hurt pretty badly. Although they had no cuts or broken bones, their bodies were in terrible pain. Onime landed slowly back on the ground.

"Killing you now would just take all the fun out of things. I've got a better idea of what to do with you." Onime held his hand up and above him opened a rift in the sky. It flowed with darkness and Onime picked up the weak bodies of the Mahouski and threw them into it. "The Demon Realm will be a fitting place for you to die." He said coldly once they had disappeared within the darkness. The rift slowly closed and then vanished.

Darkness filled Ryu's vision. His mind was whirling around him. His whole body ached and he was very tired. He felt a hard surface on his back, one that was rough and uneven. He moved his hand slightly and felt dirt on the ground. He slowly opened his eyes and looked up into the sky. Ryu starred at it trying to make sense of what he saw. Instead of the blue sky filled with several white clouds, and a bright sun he saw a deep rust colored sky and a black sun. Ryu slowly began to remember what had just happened. He had been fighting Onime, but he was far too strong. There was nothing Ryu could do. Then Onime opened a portal and. Ryu struggled to recall what had happened. Then it hit him. He had been thrown into it, and Onime had said something as they fell in. He had said, "The Demon Realm will be a fitting place for you to die." Ryu suddenly sat up. Al around him he saw demons. Ghouls and shades completely surrounded him. He immediately jumped to his feet and looked around for Sei. She was lying on the ground just next to him, and was still completely out. Ryu shook her until she finally woke up. She was just as disoriented as Ryu had been. Ryu helped her up to her feet until she regained her own strength. The two grasped their swords, their pain forgotten with the new threat to their lives.

"So this is the Demon Realm." Sei commented as she looked around her. Everything as far as the eye could see was a desolate wasteland. The ground was nothing but hard dirt. No trees or anything could be found. The ghouls surrounding them shifted and drew their swords. This was not going to be an easy fight. Ryu looked around him as he sized up their forces. The ghouls wouldn't be much problem. Although they could easily kill normal humans, against the powers of the Mahouski, and even the Sumeregi bloodline, their strength was minimal. However the shades could prove to be more difficult. Their speed allowed them to evade most of the enemy's attacks. Although in small numbers a Mahouski could easily read their movements and act accordingly. But with these large numbers in combination with the mindless ghouls it could get very difficult.

However just when Ryu thought he had this battle figured out something else happened. From above him Ryu heard a loud noise. He looked up and saw something he had not expected. Demon wyrm riders were circling above them. If they could the wyrm's wing then it would send the creature tumbling to the down and most likely kill the rider, but that was easier said than done. The wryms were just as fast as shades and because they could fly their maneuverability was much greater. That wasn't even taking into consideration the fact that the wyrms could breath out a powerful black flame that had wide attack area. The situation had gone from bad to worse.

"You ready for this Sei?" Ryu said quietly so that only she could hear him.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Came the reply.

"Alright then, let's go." With that the two Mahouski sprung forward and began the fight. Blades flashed as everyone moved at once. Several demons tried to surround Ryu, but he was too quick for them. With a quick stab he took out one of the ghouls and broke the trap. He flipped back and landed on the head of a demon behind him where he quickly sprung off of it and into the air. One of the wyrms was heading straight for him and it breathed out a stream of black fire. Ryu shot a burst of wind straight down to push himself higher. The flames flew under him and crashed into the ground taking out several demons with it. Ryu immediately turned to face the wyrm rider that was already getting away. He held his hand forward and fired a Hiryu Kourindan at its wing. The blast struck hard and easily punctured the wing. A loud cry came from the beast as it fell to the ground and crashed into several ghouls and shades. Ryu landed back on the ground and found a shade already charging at him at high speed. He watched it closely and readied his sword in front of him. It ran forward and just as it was about to reach him it darted to the right. Ryu noticed the movement and turned to the right swinging his sword upward and leaving a lethal wound in the shade's body. It fell back and Ryu immediately had to turn and defend from several ghouls that had tried to take advantage of the distraction the shade had made.

Sei's sword skills were more than enough to defeat the ghouls, but their numbers would often force her to resort to one of her more powerful moves. Sei quickly sidestepped a stab from one of the ghouls and stabbed him hard. She pulled her sword free from his body and quickly turned to block one of the shades. Their blades clashed and then Sei fell back to the ground. The shade fell forward over her where Sei quickly blasted him with Koori no Yaiba. She was luck enough to hit one of the wyrms above her with the same attack. A ghoul appeared above Sei and slammed his blade to the ground t her. She quickly rolled to the side and swung her blade across his chest. The enemy fell to the ground dead. Sei looked around her as Ryu finished up the last few shades. A wyrm rider tried to dive bomb her, but she was more then prepared as she leapt into the air sailing over it and was able to land an ice blade in its head. The abrupt stop threw the swordsman from the beast and sent him crashing across the ground. Sei landed gracefully on the ground, and looked back toward Ryu. He had now finished with remaining shades and was looking back at Sei. However their trial was far from over. A loud echoing voice spoke to them.

"Well done, well done indeed. Of course I would have expected nothing less from two of the Mahouski. To be honest I would have been terribly disappointed if you hadn't won that fight."

"That voice," Ryu said in a quiet but deep tone, "Shikon."

"Absolutely correct. Although not just me, I believe you will also know my companion and fellow general, Akamaru." As Shikon said that two figures formed in front of Ryu and Sei. They were of course none other than Shikon and Akamaru. Both of them appeared to be perfectly healed from their previous encounters.

"It seems we underestimated you last time, but not this time. This time you will die for sure." Akamaru said. Ryu and Sei faced the two generals and prepared for a rough fight. Shikon decided to start the contest with a large burst of darkness. It flew through the air straight at Ryu. He quickly jumped to the side and dodged it.

"Sei, you deal with Shikon, I'll handle Akamaru." Ryu said.

"Ryokai." Sei responded. As Ryu charged toward Akamaru, Sei unleashed Koori no Yaiba at Shikon. A wall of darkness appeared in front of him to deflect the attack. Shikon fired another burst of darkness at Sei, but she was able to deflect it with her Aoi Katsunaki. She wasted no time in counterattacking as she slammed her palm into the ground and used Koorima. The ice blades flew from the ground and crashed down on Shikon. However the same shield appeared around him to block the attacks.

"That is a very good defense you have," Sei commented, "but I've seen it before. And I know how to counter it. She slammed other palm into the ground and called for a second Koorima attack. This time the blades came from underneath Shikon and Sei also knew how high up they could go without hitting the shield. Shikon's shield faded. Broken ice blades lay all around him on the ground. But on his shoulder and leg were moderately deep wounds. He had used his staff to block most of the ice blades, but not all of them. Sei complimented herself silently while she prepared for the next attack.

All the while Sei and Shikon had been exchanging noryoku attacks Ryu and Akamaru were locked in a sword battle. Ryu swung his blade hard toward Akamaru. The general caught the blade between his claws and twisted it to the side. Ryu immediately pulled the blade from between the claws and tried to stab Akamaru. Instead of dodging, Akamaru jumped back and threw several of his kunai at Ryu. The Kazeski summoned his wind barrier and the kunai bounced off it and landed in the ground. Ryu swung his sword once creating an arc of wind and then quickly overlapped it with another. "Kaze Souga!" He yelled as the whirlwind flew toward Akamaru. However the demon general was again able to dodge the attack. The dust that had been kicked up by Ryu's attack blocked his vision. From out of the dust came two kunai. Ryu quickly blocked them with his sword and hurled a wind blast at where they had come from. The blast tore through the dust and hit nothing.

The fights were both at a stalemate. But then from the sky came a loud bang and a flash of light. Another person entered the Demon Realm. The figure fell down and landed gracefully on the ground. He rose to his feet and turned to face the two battling Mahouski. He had short dark brown hair that hung straight down in a neat fashion. His eyes were a deep coal black that showed no emotion at all. A black cloak surrounded his body. But on the cloak was the red symbol of Onime's generals. This was the fourth general, but he was very different from the other three. The evil aura that filled the other three seemed to be much less present in this one. Also his eyes did not glow red as they did with all other demons. His were pitch black. Akamaru and Shikon had both stopped fighting as they turned to face the new arrival. Ryu and Sei also focused their attention on him.

"The two of you have been fooling around haven't you? You should have been able to kill these two by now." The cloaked figure said in a cold, exacting tone.

"What we do is none of your business Jirai. They will die when we choose to kill them." Replied Akamaru

"Those were not the orders Onime gave you. He said to dispose of them quickly. Do you dare to defy him?"

"No, it's not like that." Replied Akamaru a hint of fear now present in his voice.

"Regardless, I will deal with the Kazeski myself. The two of you, I trust, can handle the Mizuski on your own. And this time make sure you finish the fight quickly. Onime has other tasks for you."

"Ryokai." The Akamaru and Shikon replied in unison. Akamaru left Ryu alone and the two began their assault on Sei. Ryu started to go after him, but Jirai moved in his path.

"Your fight is with me Kazeski. And I assure you it will take all of your attention to stay alive. The Jirai pushed his cloak to the sides revealing his body that was dressed in clothes very similar to the ones worn by Ryu and Onime. But he also had a katana at his side. Ryu starred at it. No normal man can use that type of weapon, at least not effectively. This guy must be good, very good. Jirai noticed Ryu's gaze and commented.

"You seem to have noticed my weapon. Yes it is a katana. And I wouldn't underestimate my skill with it. Not if you wish to survive." Jirai drew the blade from its sheath and held it at the ready. The two charged each other and their blades clashed head on. They forced each other back and landed on the ground just long enough to rebound off it and back into each other. Ryu used the blade as a base to launch himself further into the air. Ryu began to fall back down and he held his sword in front of him. Jirai hit the ground and immediately jumped back to avoid Ryu's attack. Ryu planted his sword into the ground and charged a Kazadama. Jirai began to charge him in an attempt to hit when he was vulnerable. But he wasn't fast enough and Ryu hurled it right at him. Jirai swung his sword at it and Ryu laughed to himself knowing that no sword could block that attack. However it did. Jirai's sword knocked the Kazadama off to the side and continued his charge. Ryu immediately leapt to the side wrenching his sword from the ground as he went. Jirai paused and answered the question Ryu was now pondering.

"My sword is a cursed blade. It was designed to be able to block your noryoku. And I am very good at blocking it. Your abilities are all but useless against me." Ryu readied his sword in front of me, now knowing that his sword skills alone would have to win this fight. Jirai rushed forward and Ryu sidestepped him, and prepared to attack. However before he did something caught his eye. It was hard to see because of the cloak he wore, but at that moment it was visible. Just below the back of Jirai's neck was an odd marking. It was three circular marks arranged in a circle. Ryu had never seen that kind of mark, but it was obviously some kind of seal, although Ryu had no idea what it did.

The slight hesitation at noticing that had cost Ryu his opening as Jirai had now turned and was ready for the attack. He easily blocked Ryu's attack and countered it with a hard swing that knocked Ryu back to the ground. Jirai rushed in to deliver a final blow. Ryu tired to block it but it was too close, he wouldn't be able to make it in time. However just before the blow struck Jirai was hit by something that knocked him away. Ryu was shocked by the sudden move, but he was not about to lose the chance. He quickly got back on his feet and readied his sword.

From the sky came another loud bang and a burst of light. Now another figure came into the Demon Realm. Ryu was puzzled because only four generals were supposed to exist, Hachigeki was already dead and the other three were here. A young small figure appeared in the sky and slowly fell down to the ground. He had messy black hair that stuck out in all directions. He had on a loose fitting black tunic and tan shorts. A small pouch was strapped to his right leg. On the back of his waist was the same style of sword that Subaru had used, a shorter version of a katana. He landed and faced Ryu, his black eyes starring straight at the Kazeski.

"I don't remember you being that slow, Ryu." The person said. That was when Ryu knew who it was. He had felt the presence many times before; the last time had been when he was pursuing it. This new arrival was most assuredly not a demon general. It was Kaminariski Hikaru.

"Hikaru!" Ryu exclaimed. "How did you now we were here?"

"You know very well that my ability to sense things is very acute. I could tell exactly what was happening in your battle with Onime. I would have helped, but I knew that there was nothing I could do. Onime was too powerful and I would have been beaten along with you. I figured it was best to just stay hidden and wait for a time when my appearance would do the most good."

"It's good to see you again Hikaru." Sei said.

"The same to you two. But now isn't the time for this. Let's take care of these guys." There are more demons coming this way. We need to finish the quickly." Saying that Hikaru drew his blade from its sheath on his back and prepared to fight. "Akamaru." Hikaru called, "Leave the lady alone. You'll fight me."

"I'd be delighted to." He replied. Hikaru quickly flipped open the pouch on his leg and pulled several shuriken and a kunai from it. He took the kunai and placed it in his mouth to hold it while he charged toward Akamaru and threw the shuriken. The general easily dodged the shuriken and quickly moved to counterattack. Hikaru blocked the claws with his knife and jumped into the air passed Akamaru. He turned in mid-air and dropped the kunai from his mouth into his hand. He threw it at Akamaru. The general noticed the attack too late. He tired to dodge and managed to avoid getting hit in a vital area, but the kunai still pierced his leg. The demon landed and ripped the kunai from his leg and threw it back at Hikaru. The Mahouski caught the kunai out of the air and placed it back in his pouch.

"Thank you, now I get to use it again." The general was enraged. He charged blindly which made him easier to predict. Hikaru easily jumped out of the way of the attack and slashed at his arm leaving a light scratch on it. Hikaru jumped away from Akamaru and watched as he regained his composure and began the fight again.

Unfortunately Ryu's fight was not fairing as well as Hikaru's. Jirai was clearly the strongest of the generals, and his sword skills were top-notch. Plus his cursed sword rendered Ryu's noryoku useless. Their blades clashed in rapid succession as they both wielded their swords at high speeds. Although Ryu was managing to keep himself from getting hurt, he wasn't getting any damage in on Jirai. Sei was quickly adapting to Shikon and the fight was beginning to turn in her favor. However the demons that Hikaru had felt were closing in.

Ryu could easily feel them now. Their numbers were great. Ryu didn't know exactly how big it was, but he knew it was bigger than what they had fought when they first arrived. If those demons got here and attacked the Mahouski, Ryu knew that they couldn't handle them along with the generals. He fought with all of his might trying to end the fight quickly. But despite his efforts Jirai was too good. Akamaru had calmed down and was fighting evenly with Hikaru. And despite the fact that Sei had the upper hand in her fight with Shikon, she still couldn't end the fight. The Mahouski may have been holding their own against the generals, but their time was up. The demon force was upon them. They flooded the battlefield and blindly attacked the Mahouski. Ryu knew he couldn't win this fight. Their numbers were too great and none of them could afford to take any focus off of the fight with the generals.

'This fight is not one we can win,' Ryu thought, 'their numbers are too great, and we don't have our full powers back yet. I have to use the ougi. The consequences may be great, but we're out of options.' All of the Mahouski have one ougi. The ougi is an ultimate technique. They require large amounts of noryoku to use, but their power is enormous. And Ryu was being forced to use his.

"Hikaru, Sei, keep them demons busy for me." Ryu called as he leapt away from the fight and began to build up his noryoku. Sei and Hikaru both noticed what he was doing.

"Ryu, don't do it. Using that move could kill you at your current level." Sei protested knowing just how risky it was. Despite the fact that their bodies were designed to prevent them from using so much noryoku as to kill them, what Ryu was doing bypassed his limitations. He didn't have enough power to execute his ougi, so he was converting his very life into noryoku. It bypassed all of the body's limiters and he used too much power, than it would kill him. However Ryu was not going to stop Sei.

"We have no choice. You know it, this is the only option left." Sei wanted to protest further but she knew that he was right. She leapt away from the fight with Shikon and focused on keeping everyone away from Ryu. Hikaru had already done the same thing. Now Sei and Hikaru stood before a massive force and did everything in their power to hold it off.

Meanwhile the wind around them began to roar. It moved with great force as it surrounded Ryu. The Kazeski struggled to control the power. Ryu's abilities were still weak and controlling the enormous amounts of wind he needed to use his ougi was very difficult for him. Ryu screamed as he struggled to place the power under his control. Hikaru and Sei were having a lot of trouble holding the demons back. Slowly the wind began to fall under Ryu's control. It all flowed in to him and circled around his arm. The wind whirled in a tight ring around the Mahouski's am and finally it was under Ryu's control.

"Get back!" Ryu yelled as he prepared to unleash the attack. The entire demon army raced toward him. Ryu crossed his arm over his chest and then flung it forward and unleashed the attack. "Ougi, Hayate!" He yelled as the wind surged from him. The weaker demons were torn apart. Their bodies were far too weak to withstand the stress. The three generals were flung into the air and thrown far away. The wind died and Ryu staggered slightly as he tried to stay standing.

"Hikaru, get us out of here." He commanded

"Ryokai." He replied. He quickly performed several hand seals and before them opened another gate similar to the one Onime had made when he sent them here. Hikaru gave Ryu his shoulder and the Kazeski gratefully took it as they leapt back through the portal. Just after they left it closed behind them. Another portal appeared on the trail where Ryu and Sei had encountered Onime. The three warriors fell out of it. Hikaru laid Ryu down on the ground. Sei rushed to his side and checked his breathing.

"He'll be fine Sei. He didn't use enough to kill himself, but he'll be unconscious for a long time. All we can do now is keep him safe until he wakes back up."

"You're right. Let's go, that portal must have attracted the demons. No doubt they're searching for us now."

"We need to get far away from here. If we hide there I can set up a barrier that will completely hide us from the demons. That mountain over there looks like a good place." Hikaru said as he gestured to a moderately sized mountain that was about 5 hours away for the Mahouski. It should definitely be far enough." Sei agreed and Hikaru hoisted Ryu onto his back. They took off at a very quick pace and headed straight toward the mountain. Hopefully there they could stay hidden long enough for Ryu to recover. And until he did they had to avoid coming in contact with any demons. Sei and Hikaru may be awake, but they were still weakened greatly by that fight. Their pace was very quick, and it had to be; because the demons were already chasing after them.

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And that's that for now. the next chapter is going to be one of my favorites, and It's shaping up to be a pretty long one. Anyway here's a little preview, written in classic corny preview language

Chapter Nine Kazeski's Hijutsu: The Hijutsu. The one aspect of the Mahouski that very few know about. What exaclty are they, and what kind of power will it hold for Ryu? Will it be enough to protect the ones who protected him? What will happen when the wings of an angel are reborn within this world? All this and more in the next chapter.

Okay that was terribly corny, but I just felt like writing something like that. Anyway please R&R. 


	9. Glossary

Glossary  
  
-chan – Name suffix used with little children, although used with people of similar age as well as a sign of friendship or endearment. Occasionally used with an close person as a joke  
  
-kun – Name suffix similar to –chan but shows more respect and generally used with an older person  
  
-sama – Name suffix used when referring to someone of a higher class or rank than the speaker. More respectful than –san.  
  
-san – Name suffix used when referring to an older person, a term of respect used to people who are older or of a hire position. Less respectful than –sama.  
  
Abunai – look out  
  
Ano – a word used to stall when nervous akin to 'uh'  
  
Arigatou – Thank you  
  
Arigatou Gozaimas – Thank you very much  
  
Doko – where are you?  
  
Daijovu – are you okay?  
  
Densetsu – legend  
  
Densetsu no – followed by a noun meaning that that noun is of a legend (i.e. densetsu no Mahouski means Mahouski of legend)  
  
Gomen – Sorry  
  
Gomenosai – I'm sorry (more polite than gomen)  
  
Imana – now  
  
Ja na – see ya  
  
Kakugo – prepare yourself  
  
Kisama – you bastard  
  
Kurai – a phrase used before executing a powerful attack, similar to take this  
  
Kusou – damn it  
  
Mau mau – a calming phrase similar to calm down, or take it easy.  
  
Mezameo - Awaken  
  
Nigero – run  
  
Okairi – (pronounced O-kai-ear-E) said when welcoming someone home.  
  
Ohaeyo – (pronounced O-hi-yo) good morning  
  
Ryokai – Understood (usually used when responding to an order)  
  
Shikatanai – can't be helped  
  
Tadaima – (pronounced ta-dai-E-ma) said when arriving home  
  
Todomeda – (said before delivering a final attack. Similar to this is the end, or here comes the final blow)  
  
Yurusan – I won't forgive you 


End file.
